Going in Style: Movie Review
Nearly four decades ago, George Burns, Art Carney, and Lee Strasberg gave us the crime-caper comedy classic, “Going in Style”. Because Hollywood loves to remake things rather than come up with original ideas, we have an updated version of the same movie, this time starring Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Arkin. Despite having no originality, it’s hard to not be interested in a film with those three in the lead. To top things off, we even get Christopher Lloyd who hasn’t been this funny in a very long time.
Joe (Caine), Willie (Freeman), and Albert (Arkin) have been friends for more than 30 years. Albert and Willie are roommates and Joe lives directly across the street. When they learn that their pension has been has been frozen and Joe is on the brink of losing his home, the three seniors decide to rob the bank that is screwing them over. Even though they feel they are smart enough to rob a bank, they wisely offer a professional thief named Jesus (John Ortiz) 25% of what they steal in exchange for teaching them how to be crooks.
While we are waiting for the actually heist to take place, we learn more about each character through the issues in their lives. Joe shares his home with his daughter and granddaughter, Brooklyn (Joey King). Without the pension, he is completely broke. Willie lives apart from his family, and wishes he could afford to visit them more than once a year. To make matters worse, he is suffering from a kidney disease that is taking a toll on him. Albert is just an unhappy man in general and is actually looking forward to the day it all ends. That is until he gives in the advances of Annie (Ann-Margret), a woman who has been chasing him for some time.
“Going in Style” manages to be “OK” mainly due to the cast. Without these veterans in the leads, this could have been a complete bore to sit through. Thankfully, the players keep things moving alone. I can’t exactly recommend anyone head out to the multiplex and drop $10+ on a ticket but “Going in Style” is passable entertainment for someone looking for light fare to watch at home in a few months.
By: Marc Ferman