One For the Money
So between December 2000 and March 2001 I was living in Biloxi and Gulfport Mississippi. While living there I found the local Books-A-Million store, and was extremely happy to reignite my passion for reading. I’ve always been an avid reader since I was a kid. From Berenstain Bears books, to the Hardy Boys, to Fear Street, and then stuff like John Grisham as I got older. I frequented this store enough that the staff all knew me. One of them a slightly older lady named Angie gave me a choice. The fantastical boy wizard Harry Potter or the former lingerie buyer turned bounty hunter series of books. At the time I was 20 going on 21 years old, and Harry Potter did not appeal to me at all. So I read One For The Money, laughed my ass off throughout the entire book, and never looked back!
And finally on January 27, 2012 One For The Money was made into a film. I’ve been waiting for this for a very long time! The film had a $40 million dollar budget, which it only made $36.9 million world wide. This is not good, but I’m hopping that the DVD sales will make up for it.
The plot of the film is similair to the Janet Evanovich book, but obviously due to time constraints it was adapted for the screen. They mention in the behind the scenes feturette that a 400 page book is usually a 115 page script. On the whole the main plot of the book is here. Stephanie Plum a Trenton, New Jersey native, and former lingerie buyer needs a job. She goes to work for her less then reputable Cousin Vinnie as a Bond Enforcement agent. The big catch is that Joe Morelli has skipped out on his bond. Morelli is a Trenton Cop who is falsely accused of a bad shoot. Stephanie wants to catch him for the $50,000 she’ll get for bringing him in, plus they have history from when they were kids. Along this adventure we meet Connie, Vinnie’s Office Manager, Lula a ho on Stark Street, Jimmy Alpha, manager of the Stark Street gym, Benito Ramirez a boxer, and so many more colorful characters. We also meet the Plum Family, Mr and Mrs. Plum, Stephanie’s parents, and Grandma Mazur, who is very spry for a woman her age. I really don’t wanna give away any of the comedy bits, because they are so great.
The Cast includes the following
Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum
Jason O’Mara as Joe Morelli
Sherri Shepherd as Lula
Debbie Reynolds as Grandma Mazur
Daniel Sunjata as Ricardo Carlos Manoso (Ranger)
Patrick Fischler as Vinnie Plum
John Leguizamo as Jimmy Alpha
Ana Reeder as Connie Rossoli
Gavin-Keith Umeh as Benito Ramirez
Ryan Michelle Bathe as Jackie
Nate Mooney as Eddie Gazarra
Debra Monk as Mrs. Plum
Louis Mustillo as Mr. Plum
Annie Parisse as Mary Lou
Fisher Stevens as Morty Beyers
Danny Mastrogiorgio as Lenny
Leonardo Nam as John Cho
Adam Paul as Bernie Kuntz
Overall I throughly enjoyed the film, I must say though when I saw the trailer, I was like wait Morelli was never a bail jumper. I think if they continue to make the Plum books into movies, that it would be a great thing, because it will cause me to go back and reread the books. I completely forgot the plot of the book when this trailer premiered. If you are a comedy/action film fan check this out, there’s a unique blend of both.
TFG1Mike’s Rating: 10/10
