User reviews

Most crime films that purport to be funny usually end up with a few too many laughs, making their criminals bumbling morons. Which may make for some great laughter, but with no real menace to make you wonder why they're criminals to begin with.

Not this film - the balance between menace and comedy is carried out perfectly. The criminals are allowed to be menacing and intelligent (for the most part) while the two leads get on with the job of comedy. At least until the end, when it goes just a bit too far...

My major problem with the film is the relationship between Driver and McCormack. It never quite gels - although that could just be my inability to see McCormack's performance as anything other than Donna Air with an American accent!

All in all, worth a look - but not exactly an Oscar winner.

This movie starts out unremarkable, but it gets better, so stick with it. It is alternately silly (mostly in the first and last 15 minutes) and edgy (in the middle), but if you can ignore the various implausibilities (why would such a well-organized and highly professional team of robbers have such a moron as their lookout in the first place?) it's fun, with engaging performances particularly by Minnie Driver and Kevin McNally (who does the right thing by playing his role straight). In any case, it is much better than the very similar and mean-spirited "Beautiful Creatures" from the same year. (**1/2)

Don't take any notice of the rubbish trailers. I only watched this because it was a free screening with drink and food, and two friends. We laughed a lot.

Minnie Driver & Catherine McCormack overhear a bank robbery, and decide to blackmail the villains. Silly plot, but it is a comedy (except for one overly graphic scene where a drop off goes horribly wrong. Nearly dropped my drink there!) A lot of the smiles are from knowing the actors, which means the appeal is largely British.

I, my friends and everyone else (25 * 15-40 yr olds) in the screening room were laughing every few minutes. If you liked Bridget Jones, you'll like this.

Mel Smith is rubbish at directing natural-sounding dialogue (it sounds like a play!), although you notice less as the film goes on. Also, keep him away from multi-screen effects. That's all I'm saying. It's still good entertainment, and men & women laughed equally loudly, which is really all the comment you need.

High Heels and Low Lifes

The trailer tells us this is the next ‘Thelma and Louise,' but this wild and spicy flick is more like Starsky and Hutch meets Absolutely Fabulous. Brought to us by the veddy British, Fragile Films, the same people that brought us Spice World and is currently between two Wilde takes; 99's ‘Ideal Husband' and next year's ‘Importance of Being Ernest.' Girls just want to have fun.

The overall theme is that old-time-Hitchcock-religion where Joe Everyman becomes unwittingly entangled into crime and intrigue. The stars are Minnie Driver and Mary McCormack as a nurse and thespian respectively. These are the two Joanne Everybodies with a UK twist of sophisticated slapstick like Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau.

These women are presented as smart, strong and beautiful. Yay. And all the guys are either corrupt or useless. Just like real life. Min has a dumb boyfriend who's electronic eavesdropping picks up a cell phone mid-bank heist. Mary, the actress, fresh from a looping session with an animated tomato, sees the overheard phone conversation as an economic opportunity to squeeze the bad guys. `They'll never listen to a woman,' insists Driver. Mary says, ‘This is the twenty-first century and we do all jobs now.' Minnie crosses with `Do you want to extort money or raise consciousness?' Mary's answer, `Both!'

The rehearsals for the blackmail phone calls to the bad guys are a hoot. The writing comes from two comedy vets from the BBC, Km Fuller who cut his teeth on ‘Red Dwarf' and Georgia Pritchett from the sassy ‘Smack The Pony' and nicely directed by Mel Smith who did ‘Mr. Bean.'

Highlights include a very nice travelling matte midsection when both sides rally to battle reminiscent of the opening title sequence to Knots Landing and a smashing performance from Sir Michael Gambon, the great character actor which is another word for interesting.

I rented this movie because I like the two leading ladies. The movie was pretty funny. I am a Mary McCormack fan and this movie was a bit of a departure from her usually cool roles. Compared to Murder One, Private Parts or the West Wing she definitely showed off her comedy and action chops and some of her vocal skills. I'm surprised that it did so poorly at the box office. I don't even remember the film coming out in the theaters. What was its competition?I wonder if this film did better overseas than in the States due to its lack of "big name" lead actors? It definitely for teens and above, and it would have been a good date flick. Comment on the R rating: A lot of cursing(British and American) and a somewhat gratuitous scene in a strip club.

Two best friends - Shannon (Minnie Driver) and Frances (Mary McCormack) found out that a bank in their neighbourhood had been broken into. But instead of reporting it to the police, they decided to take things into their own hands.

And it led to hilarious and serious consequences along the way. Really!

I am very surprised at the versatility of Michael Gambon's role as Kerrigan in this movie. Like many Harry Potter fans like myself (eh yes...), I am only first aware of his role as Dumbledore from the third Potter movie. He really played the baddie in this one well which almost could not led me to recognise him.

The two main female protagonists really know how to kick some butt, despite one of them plays a nurse and the other plays an aspiring actress in the movie.

Saw this over the weekend on the television here and I have a good time along the way. The British accents may sound a little foreign to anyone outside of the UK, but then it's worth a watch. If you are the kind who like to see girls kicking some real butt over the bad guys, British-style.

This is a movie that is made in complete comedy style and is also being directed by comedy-man Mel Smith. Yet this is a movie that just has no laughs in it and it's as if they even did tried hard enough.

It's of course a movie with a very simple thin story, that also on top of that is an highly unlikely one, even for comedy standards. The way the entire movie progresses is also rather predictable, which makes this a very little uninteresting and unoriginal movie to watch. It's of course not a movie to take serious in the first place but in that case the movie should had had some more comedy and entertainment in it, which it just simply hadn't. Instead it also tries to be more moralistic, which often is an annoying approach for any comedy. Mel Smith obviously has some comical talent but he yet still needs to proof himself as a good comedy movie director.

Problem is also its two main characters. They are being presented in this movie as strong, smart, independent women but yet they do all these stupid things. So something is wrong here with the approach. And no offense but lets be honest here for a moment, can you at least name 5 good movies that has 2 female characters as the movie's main leads? It's just something that rarely ever works out successfully. especially when you have a movie with a non-serious approach. Females in comical roles also always tend to overact more than males in the same type of roles. This often works as sort of annoying, even though this movie is still bearable with its acting, thanks to the professional acting by Minnie Driver and Mary McCormack, who unfortunately just weren't given a better script to work with.

Also the supporting cast is a good one with actors such as Kevin McNally, Mark Williams and Michael Gambon in it. They still also give the movie some extra flair but you can debate about it if most of their roles were actually really necessary for the movie at all.

It's a movie that has the right style, uses the right actors but yet just doesn't work out as a good and successful enough comedy. The movie seriously lacks laughs, which is especially disappointing for a British comedy and could had used a more clever and originally written script and possibly a different director at the helm.

4/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

I approached this film with much trepidation, as I had heard no comments - good or bad - about it, and I have to say I was suitably impressed. The performances, particularly by Minnie Driver and Mary McCormack, were spot on, and the script was both witty and original in equal measure. Mark Williams as the acidly sarcastic Detective and Hugh Bonneville as the irate farmer are particular delights. On the whole (though a little slow to start) this film is funny, original and well worth the effort.

McCormack and Driver play "one blonde, one dark, both attractive" in this fun and funny Brit flick about two babes who accidentally learn about a heist and then try to extort money from the crooks. "High Heels and Low Lifes" doesn't break any new ground but that doesn't stop it from nonstop silliness and wall-to-wall LOL's a la Benny Hill as female ditziness imposes itself on the sagacity of the criminal mind. Enjoyable stuff for those into British comedy.

I was on a plane coming back from Germany and this was showing. I was drinking at the time and it STILL was terrible. My friend and I both couldn't believe how bad this movie was. The plot was ridiculous, the writing atrocious and the acting bad. At one point there is a shoot out at a train station, bullets flying everywhere, and no one seems to care. No police are called, nothing. Avoid this movie, it's a waste of time.

A lot of movies are made that have little significance or substance, but are `just for fun,' and wind up being forgettable, in general, as they are made with an eye on box office or projected video receipts, rather than on creating a film that is not only just for fun, but at the same time, worthwhile and enduring. Happily, `High Heels and Low Lifes,' directed by Mel Smith, is one of those rare gems of a little, just-for-fun movie that succeeds in being exactly what it was meant to be: Highly entertaining, and most importantly, fun-- and in a way that's not only memorable, but quite accessible and one that lends itself to multiple viewings, primarily because of it's stars, Minnie Driver and Mary McCormack, who make one of the most winsome and engaging teams to come along in quite some time.

After a fight with her boyfriend, nurse Shannon (Driver) is left to celebrate her birthday with her best friend, Frances (McCormack), an aspiring actress. Departing as he did in a hurry, Shannon's boyfriend leaves behind his recording equipment and the scanners that enable him to pick up telephone conversations he can record and use to create a kind of urban, new age music. And after a bit too much to drink, the girls start to fool around with the scanner, and happen across a phone conversation between a gang of crooks committing a robbery.

Driven to action by purely altruistic intentions (of course), the girls realize this is a chance to pick up a big chunk of change real quick, and they decide to contact and `negotiate' with the thieves for a part of the take. The girls tell them to cough up or they'll go to the police. Big mistake, as they have no idea who they're dealing with, or how big (and bad) the organization behind them really is. But Shannon and Frances are about to find out, and before it's all over, they just may wish they'd never heard of a `scanner,' or for that matter, a telephone. Then again, maybe not...

Mel Smith succeeds in crafting and delivering a high-energy, often hilarious romp through London and the surrounding environs, as he puts his stars through their paces in a way that generates plenty of laughs and makes his audience glad they came along for the ride. Smith sets a perfect pace that makes this a lively comedy, enriched by witty dialogue, wry British humor and the iridescent performances of Driver and McCormack, all of which makes this film more reminiscent of such fare as Michael Caine's `The Italian Job,' or any of the early Peter Sellers movies, rather than the more contemporary Farrelly Brothers/'American Pie' type humor that is so prevalent today. And, as such, it is refreshingly fun AND funny, and leaves you yearning for more of the same.

Since her auspicious motion picture debut as Benny in the heartwarming `Circle of Friends' in 1995, Driver has successfully filled her resume with films that run the gamut from black comedy (As Debi, `Grosse Pointe Blank') and straight drama (Rosie, `The Governess') to action (Karen, `Hard Rain'). Not all of her projects have been a success critically and/or at the box office, perhaps, but one would be hard-put to find a single performance of hers among them that is not engaging and credible. She's demonstrated time and again that she can hold her own with the big boys in the high profile films (alongside De Niro in `Sleepers,' Damon and Affleck in `Good Will Hunting'), and one of her most memorable performances is in what is arguably one of the best romantic comedies of all time, `Return To Me,' in which she plays Grace. All in all, in a comparatively short time, Driver has accrued some impressive credentials, and she never fails to live up to her promise-- and her portrayal of Shannon in this film is no exception. Using to great effect her quirky good looks and winning personality, combined with a discernible intelligence that points up a beauty that is much more than skin deep, here as always, she is a delight to watch.

Perfectly cast, as well, is Mary McCormack, as she succeeds in capturing the very essence of Frances, while proving to be a perfect complement to Driver's Shannon. McCormack has that same kind of well-rounded beauty as Driver, which indicates there's always something going on behind the eyes, and cinematically speaking, as a team it makes them a force to be reckoned with. Most importantly, McCormack brings Frances vividly and enthusiastically to life, and it goes far toward enabling the viewer to suspend disbelief long enough to just go with the flow and enjoy the high jinks of these two young ladies as they cut their swath across the English countryside.

In a terrific supporting role, Michael Gambon, as Kerrigan, is wonderfully droll, espousing that oh-so-wry-and-dry British humor in a manner reminiscent and worthy of Noel Coward at his best. Indeed, Gambon has some of the funniest lines, delivered so subtly as to evoke purely spontaneous bursts of side-splitting laughter from the audience. And when an actor can do that, he has without question succeeded in doing his job; which is exactly what Gambon has accomplished here.

The supporting cast includes Kevin McNally (Mason), Mark Williams (Tremaine), Danny Dyer (Danny), Darren Boyd (Ray), Simon Scardifield (Tony) and Len Collin (Barry). By definition, a comedy is a `movie (or play) of light and humorous character with a happy or cheerful ending.' Therefore-- by definition-- `High Heels and Low Lifes' is a `comedy' in every sense of the word. Thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable, it's a film that makes a promise for a good time to be had by all, then goes on to fulfill that promise. The magic is alive and well in this one, and that's the magic of the movies. I rate this one 8/10.

This movie was a complete delight surprise. Under its ugly title, there's a very funny movie, upgraded by its British background. As it happens that I like both Minnie and UK, I really appreciated it. The basic idea of turning girlish friends into blackmailers for the good cause is really intelligent and original. With Minnie and her friend, they found a great duo. Their characterization is very accurate because their plan sounds realistic and they are great standing up when things falls apart. Along them, you can find an excellent dark crook and some future Harry Potter wannabees (Mr Weasley and Dumbledore himself!). All the action is shot live in London and you can get some good slices of it, from the luxury mansion to modern flats, to train station from hospital, parks and aerial shoots.

I'm speechless ! SERIOUSLY Who're the Real bad 'guys' in this film ? All causality are made by the greedy stubborn freak jack characters , who're supposed to be on the good nursing side . The selfishness of them is so overwhelmed which even cops making jokes about them on who's causing the mayhem ... besides the movie is sexist from either sides , packed up w childish clichés & typical daytime British soap show cast , the locations don't make senses like having random conversation on top a 'New' Tourist attractions or throwing phone in the flashies part of the town ! The bathing scenes or listening to classical music is more like American clichés meanwhile the main characters driving in sardine cars ! It's ridiculously an American las vegas fantasy scenario meets British desperate writers only for the public ratings ... everything in this movie is cheesy setup American pop cornish as hell which is insulting to few people left to sell out !

If this was a film about two guys, it would seem silly, stupid and highly improbable. For that matter, it would be hard to believe if both of the women were Americans, and the setting was New York or Los Angeles. But the setting is Britain, and although one of the women is American, the other is more conventionally English. The mix makes for enough reasonable doubt that the story seems at least imaginable. Otherwise, plots in which two women are the central characters in a send-up of gangster films are rare, and this one is treated intelligently. The two women are smart and quick witted. In contrast, the bad guys are not just goof balls, like the title would seem to imply. They are creepy and dangerous, and the two gals soon find themselves in over their heads. The tension sometimes approaches real drama, but it is ultimately a comedy,. It is well worth watching, although the ending may seem a bit abrupt. The two ladies have minds of their own and some great lines to say.

"High Heels and Low Lifes" is a British comedy from 2001 starring Minnie Driver and Mary McCormack as friends who become involved in a robbery and decide to take matters into their own hands.

Driver plays a nurse, Shannon, and McCormack is her actress friend Frances. Finding out about a robbery nearby, they decide to blackmail the robbers for $2 million. The gang is led by Kevin McNally and Michael Gambon.

It's much more convoluted and fun than I've just described. I only gave it a 7 because it actually could have been a TV movie. However, it's so darn funny, and everyone in it is great. I had never seen the prolific McCormack in comedy; she's excellent. Minnie Driver looks great and is hilarious -- the two make a wonderful team. I wish they had turned this into a series.

It's on Netflix - if you like the type of comedies that were done in the '80s before everything appealed to the lowest common denominator, this is for you.

I went to see this film with low expectations and I wasn't disappointed. I had hoped that Minnie Driver's presence might have meant a sharp, incisive script and some inventive plotting. No such luck. For some reason, the vast majority of British comedies end up as periodically slightly amusing in a light, gentle way. Why this is I have no idea as we can boast some of the world's brightest comic talents.

Ms Driver is fine and Mary McCormack as her partner in crime is adequate, if slightly annoying. Mark Williams is the best on show here as the put-upon detective.

The director Mel Smith said this was the film of his he was happiest with - I suggest he go back to The Tall Guy, which is far superior. Ending a film like this with the Eurythmic's 'Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves' was also a cliche too far.

A good effort, but could have been so much better.

I had no expectations surrounding this work, as I had no exposure to ads, trailers, etc before my initial viewing, so this was a cold viewing, which is rare for me.

There are two impressive elements with this film. The first is Michael Gambon. If he was making the attempt to counter any type-casting associated with his Harry Potter character, Albus Dumbledore, he was 100% successful. This performance is gritty, hard, and even rough. But he is also great in this role.

The second impressive element is the story itself. It generates enough intrigue to hold your interest. Usually with a plot such as this one, I need some suspense to do that, but this story generates the interest enough without the suspense. I found that refreshing.

This work is a bit reminiscent of the feeling found in Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead, though lacks the same intensity.

All in all, I was intrigued and thoroughly entertained.

It rates a 6.8/10 from...

the Fiend :.

Everybody raves about The Full Monty, which while I think it is very funny, it is also over rated. This film, while not perfect, I thought was as good as The Full Monty, if not better. The crooks weren't to dumb, and they were menacing. The comedy was funny, but not over the top, OK. a little bit over the top at the end. I laughed out loud a lot, and I would give this film a firm recommendation. It's just a shame every new British Comedy Film that comes out has to be compared to The Full Monty, a film which is funny but slightly over rated.

A good start for the film, but especially towards the end my interest had faded away. The two girls are really hot, and the blackmail rehearsal routines are outstandingly hilarious! Note especially the British and American styles. Also the animated "alien tomato" character (or something like that). Hey, here's the weak spot: the gangsters are way too stupid for the story to have some credibility if you wanted a real thriller. Even though there was so many shooting. So, in order to make it a more consistent comedy, they should have made the gangsters really lame and not at all dangerous, but in the girls' minds. Then we'd have had something! In a word, they should have made something better out of that material.

This film, like most of the others I really like, is for enjoyment only. It has an absurd plot, people do unlikely things and everything magically turns out right, shuffling off to the side nasty details of some sub-plots. But is a real hoot. I have not laughed this much at a movie in a long time.

If you are weary of teen flicks loaded with sophmoric bodily function humor and you really dug "A Fish Named Wanda", this movie is a MUST for you!!!

The first time I watched High Heels and Low Lifes it was on TV late, somewhat around 1 or 2 in the morning during the week. Having never heard of it before and not expecting anything, I kept watching it and ended up surprised. Sure, the story is a bit thin and there are no well known actors in it, but this movie simply works. In it's best moments, the chemistry between the two leading actresses works really well and is enjoyable to watch, plus the rest of the cast (especially the police) adds charm as well. It's just the right film to watch when it rains outside and you don't want any thrilling rides or deep plots but want smile or even laugh sometimes and just have a good time.

The direction from Mel Smith is pedestrian at best, and the plot falls between two stools, being neither farcical nor plausible. Rather than being swept up in events, the female protagonists doggedly pursue a reckless course of action without adequate motivation. The cartoon violence, in which despite hails of bullets no-one actually gets killed, contributes to the lack of edge. We never really care about the heroines, because we never feel they are actually in any danger. A further problem is Mary McCormack, who just does not have the comic chops to carry off the demands placed on her. One would have hoped in any case that British cinema had got beyond the point of importing Hollywood C-listers in the forlorn hope of sales across the Pond. It might have been interesting to see what a talented British comedienne, such as Jane Horrocks or Sally Phillips, could have done with the role. The jolie laide Minnie Driver puts in an acceptable performance in a less demanding role, without doing anything to suggest that a career in comedy lies before her. Michael Gambon lends some much needed menace as a camp East End gangster, and Kevin McNally and Len Collin astutely play it straight as the heavies, but for laughs the film relies on the comic coppers, Mark Williams, as the acerbic inspector, and Kevin Eldon as his property price obsessed sergeant. Other familiar Brit faces, such as Hugh Bonneville, Paul Bown and Julian Wadham, do the best they can with blink-and-you'll-miss-them cameos. It is harmless enough way to pass an hour and a half, and will raise the occasional smile, but you will find yourself easily distracted.