High Heels and Low Lifes (2001)
Review by Doc Ezra
Film:
DVD:

Written by Kim Fuller
Directed by Mel Smith
Starring Minnie Driver, Mary McCormack, Kevin McNally, Mark Williams, Danny Dyer, and Michael Gambon

Features:

• Running audio commentary with director Smith and scribe Fuller
  
• Making-of featurette
  
• Action montage
  

Released by: Touchstone Home Video
Region: 1
Rating: R
Anamorphic: Yes

My Advice: Rent Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels instead.

When Shannon's (Driver) boyfriend Ray (Darren Boyd) forgets her birthday and elects to stay home playing with a wall of electronic surveillance equipment instead of taking her out on the town, it falls to her rambunctious American friend Frances (McCormack) to show her a good time. After getting delightfully soused, they return to Shannon's place, and overhear details of a bank heist in progress on Ray's equipment. After an unproductive visit to the local constable's office, the pair hatch a plan to get a little bit of the stolen funds for themselves via old-fashioned blackmail. Lifting the cellphone number from Ray's gear, they call in and demand a cut of the take. Of course, a nurse and a voice actress do not capable criminal masterminds make, and the pair soon find themselves in well over their heads.

With Guy Ritchie's acclaim over the very latter years of the 20th Century, it was only to be expected that there would be imitations. High Heels and Low Lifes puts a Thelma and Louise spin on the basic model, but the film is very much a British crime caper to the core. It lacks Ritchie's comedic wit and is entirely devoid of real characterization, and is therefore a significantly less entertaining film. It's a largely inoffensive bit of fluff, though, and might make for a decent rental if you're a fan of Driver or McCormack. The performances are solid, as far as they go (which isn't far), particularly from McNally, a most entertaining English character actor who plays the gang field leader, Mason.

The video and audio are excellent, as well they should be given the recent release of the film. The commentary features director Smith and writer Fuller, providing a blow-by-blow account of the shoot and all the problems that were encountered in that process. The making-of featurette is pretty generic fare, and nothing about it or the commentary is terribly enlightening. Even less informative is he "action montage" music video, which essentially hurls a handful of the action sequences together and flash-cuts them MTV-style to music. Immensely lame for a film that really features very little action.

There's nothing about this movie that's particularly awful, but neither is there anything about it that is particularly good. If you're looking for a bit of light watching for a rental, you could certainly do worse, but you'd be better off re-watching one of Ritchie's heist flicks instead.