Fri 28 Aug 2020
A PI Movie Review: ONE FOR THE MONEY (2012).
Posted by Steve under Mystery movies , Reviews[11] Comments
ONE FOR THE MONEY. Lionsgate, 2012. Katherine Heigl (Stephanie Plum), Jason O’Mara (Joseph Morelli), Daniel Sunjata (Ranger), John Leguizamo, Sherri Shepherd, Debbie Reynolds. Based on the book by Janet Evanovich. Director: Julie Anne Robinson. Available on DVD and currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
As everybody may already know, romance writer Janet Evanovich hit literary gold when she created New Jersey girl bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. There are now 27 in the series, the most recent being Fortune and Glory (2020), which I believe is the first without its number in the title.
Besides the criminous side of the things, there is a continuing romantic triangle with both vice cop Joe Morelli and fellow bounty hunter Ranger striving for the hand, if not more, of the extremely fetching Stephanie – just the kind of thing that keeps the ladies coming back for more, and done in such a way that menfolk don’t find much to object to, either.
In One for the Money, one of Stephanie’s first bounty hunting jobs – she is broke and needs the money – is to bring in Joe Morelli, who is accused of deliberately shooting a suspect who had no gun while doing a bust. It’s a weak story, admittedly, or perhaps a story weakly told, but I at least found the characters a whole lot of fun to watch. Not hilarious, as advertised, but fun.
The movie was an absolute bust with both the critics and the box office, which has completely eliminated the possibility of any more Stephanie Plum movies being made. Other the other hand, I am not alone in liking this film. If she is to be believed, and quoting from Wikipedia, “author Janet Evanovich was delighted with how the film turned out and did some joint interviews with Heigl to promote the film. Evanovich stated that she would now envision Heigl as Stephanie when writing the character.†I’m delighted to be in such good company.
August 28th, 2020 at 11:27 pm
So I’m the other one …
I still can’t fathom exactly how the whole showbiz press and publicity machines came to despise Katherine Heigl so absolutely.
You might note that the lady hasn’t been able to buy a good notice ever since she departed Grey’s Monotony all those years ago.
It all seems arbitrary to me (speaking strictly as a civilian, of course), but most such things do.
I do recall Janet Evanovich and Katherine Heigl appearing together on The View, and quite enthusiastic about a Stephanie Plum film franchise.
The best laid plans …
But it seems that the whole detective genre has become a hard sell in FilmWorld.
(Except if you’re planning the 345th remake of Murder On The Orient Express.)
August 28th, 2020 at 11:36 pm
She is terrifically attractive and we should all, at least, think about getting one for the house.
August 29th, 2020 at 7:09 am
I must have led a sheltered life. This is the time I have seen Katherine Heigl in anything. Looking online, I can see why. Her career has been filled with romantic comedies and a long stint on GREY’S. Not completely, but enough so that her world and mine have never intersected before.
I wish that the Plum books had been adapted as a TV series instead of this one-off movie, which is all there ever will be.
August 29th, 2020 at 7:23 am
You’re right, Steve. The Plum books are light and frothy, far more suitable for television than the movies. So now Stephanie has gone the way of V. I. Warshawski; sad.
I found the film mildly entertaining. It probably would have been less so if not for Debbie Reynolds.
Re: Katherine Heigl. I could be wrong because I know little about her, but I get the impression she suffers from Megan Fox syndrome.
August 29th, 2020 at 7:45 am
Do you know, Jerry, that I had V. I. WARSHAWSKI the movie at the back of my mind all the while I was watching this? Another movie that I’ve always been sure I was the only person to have liked it.
August 29th, 2020 at 8:44 am
Can’t agree. I liked Heigl when she was younger, in the original ROSWELL series, and even in the early GREY’S ANATOMY days. But she has made a series of godawful crap for the movies – she has been accused of single handedly (or with the help of her co-star Gerard Butler) killing the rom com industry. 27 DRESSES, THE UGLY TRUTH (with Butler), LIFE AS WE KNOW IT, THE BIG WEDDING, JENNY’S WEDDING – ugh. And since she was Executive Producer on three of those, she has to take a lot of the blame.
GREY’S ANATOMY has stood the test of time a lot better than Heigl has.
August 29th, 2020 at 8:50 am
Can’t disagree. But as I pointed out before, these are movies I know nothing about. They’re probably as bad as you say. Have you seen ONE FOR THE MONEY?
August 29th, 2020 at 12:40 pm
My wife has read all the Stephenie Plum novels. But, when she watched ONE FOR THE MONEY, my wife was VERY disappointed. Maybe that’s why no more of these Stephenie Plum movies have been made.
August 29th, 2020 at 1:01 pm
I in turn have read none of the books and I enjoyed the movie. Go figure!
August 29th, 2020 at 8:03 pm
The movie was entertaining, but didn’t quite come up to the charm of the books, which work almost entirely on the personality of the protagonist. In a better film Heigl would have been perfect, and even here she is good, but not special, which is what was needed series wise.
I like Evanovich and the books. She manages to write for two audiences and satisfy both, with both devoted female readers and no few men who are more comfortable reading about Plum than say a cozy.
The movie isn’t bad, in fact it is entertaining, but considering Evanovich’s success it isn’t special either, and that was expected.
August 29th, 2020 at 8:36 pm
I really am going to have to read one of the books. I haven’t yet, and I am more embarrassed to say that I haven’t than I would be to say that I have.