Masterminds is based on a true story. David (Zach Galifianakis) is an armored car driver hungry for some adventure. His former co-worker Kelly (Kristen Wiig) draws him into a plot to rob the armored car company he works for. Amazingly, in spite of his general incompetence David actually pulls off one of the largest cash heists in American history. He lays low in Mexico, but is almost immediately betrayed by his co-conspirators. Clueless David is stuck in Mexico, quickly running out of money, trying to evade the police and the killer that's been sent after him.
The true story of the 1997 Loomis-Fargo heist is a remarkable one, if only because it felt so much like real-life comedy of errors. This is the story of a bunch of criminals who got away with way too much money and immediately started making mistakes. It’s a farce that didn’t really need much embellishment, and in the hands of the right filmmaker, it would have made for dynamite cinema. Masterminds, unfortunately, takes a much broader comedic approach that doesn’t really benefit the true story it’s trying to tell.
The film doesn’t really care about the actual details of this case. It instead invests much more in painting a pretty wretched portrait of humanity through its characters. The protagonist and the main voice of the picture, David Ghantt, is made out to be a fool of epic proportions. One of the earliest scenes in the film has him accidentally discharging a firearm as he’s tucking it into his shorts. And then later on, we’re supposed to root for him as he is betrayed by his criminal compatriots. And the film never really makes a good case why he’s more worthy of sympathy than these other guys. There’s just a limit to how much outward stupidity a character can exhibit without coming off as detestable.
The film is funniest when it gets into the details. Its big comedic set pieces aren’t as effective as the simple deployment of kitsch in the production design. The markers that it chooses for the depiction of the ostentatious living that David’s criminal co-conspirators adopt following the robbery are actually pretty smart. The criminal couple both getting braces is a consistently funny visual touch, for example. David’s car has a wooden door on the driver’s side. It isn’t central to the story, but it’s a good little detail that gives the film a humanity that enhances its comedic approach.
It also helps a lot that there’s a lot of comedic talent on hand. Zach Galifianakis is still a reliable comedic performer. He is the kind of actor that can embrace this kind of kitsch. Though his efforts aren’t quite enough to acquit the film entirely, they’re appreciated nonetheless. Kristen Wiig lends the film some sweetness through the rougher portions of the narrative. In small roles, Kate McKinnon, Jason Sudeikis and Ken Marino lend the film distinct comic personality, even if the script doesn’t really give them all that much to do.
Masterminds feels like a squandered opportunity. This is a terrific story, a real life farce that says so much about class and criminality. It feels like other filmmakers might have turned this story into something both funny and thought provoking. But this film doesn’t seem to have much ambition beyond putting its lead star in bad clothes and giving him a terrible haircut. It just wants to make fun of its subjects, and is unable to find real sympathy for any of them. But it plays out in a way where we needed to care a little bit about any of these characters. And that’s where it goes wrong.
My Rating:
