The Maiden Heist (2009/Sony DVD)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Film: C+
When I saw a heist comedy with Morgan Freeman, Christopher
Walker, William H. Macy and Marcia Gay Harden had been made, I was very
interested in seeing the results. Peter
Hewitt is not my favorite director, but The
Maiden Heist (2009) is easily his best film and it is still uneven. The cast (also including good supporting
performances like comic actor Brecklin Meyer) is not bad, but it is the script
by Michael LeSieur (You, Me & Dupree,
reviewed elsewhere on this site) that is the trouble.
Walker and Freeman are guards at a museum. They like their job enough and love the art
works they guard. When the exhibit they
admire is going to be sold and moved elsewhere, they are not very happy about
it. Then they meet an oddball (Macy) who
likes the art in unusual ways and once they meet, decide to switch the
originals with well-made fakes, but this is not going to go as they expect.
Harden proves once again to be one of the best comic
actresses alive and seeing these great actors all working together and the
chemistry that comes with that is a plus, something so commonplace in good
filmmaking just a few decades ago rarely seen now. However, the script is too predictable and
does not try to do enough new, which is a real shame considering they were able
to get such a great cast together.
However, it is worth a look and for a few laughs.
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is a little
soft throughout and is either a digital shoot or Super 35mm film. Otherwise, someone did not do their job
transferring the material properly.
Color is sometimes odd and detail can be an issue, but the framing is
not bad. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is dialogue-based
and more towards the front speakers than I would have liked, but is
well-recorded. Extras include a making
of featurette, Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary,
Director/Writer/Producer feature length audio commentary, trailers for other
Sony releases and a Bloopers Reel.
- Nicholas Sheffo
