Flypaper - Who's Robbing Who? - DVD

Movie: What should be a normal visit to the bank soon turns into a very special adventure for Tripp Kennedy (Patrick Dempsey). Because while he flirts with the employee Kaitlin (Ashley Judd) what the stuff holds, the bank is robbed shortly before closing time not only by one, but by two gangs. While the two crazed petty criminals Potato (Tim Blake Nelson) and Puffer (Pruitt Taylor Vince) target the ATMs, the gang around Darrien (Mekhi Phifer) wants to get into the vault of the bank. The last customers and the employees are taken hostage and have to watch as the situation between the two gangs becomes increasingly heated. When the first death occurs and the bank's security system locks everyone in the building overnight, the whole thing seems to finally escalate. But by then Tripp already suspects there's more to the robberies than first meets the eye. In the midst of all the chaos, he now tries to put the pieces of the puzzle together - and comes to a surprising conclusion...

With Flypaper, Lion King director Rob Minkoff ventures into a rogue comedy that doesn't always come up with spot-on gags, but thanks to its many quirky characters and some very amusing ideas, it offers entertaining entertainment right up to the finale. Somewhere between slapstick and black comedy, this bank robbery of a different kind can please at least until the last third with good laughs and some original absurdities. Towards the end, the story does run out of steam a bit and the finale threatens to get lost a bit in the general chaos, but overall most viewers should feel well entertained by the end.

The actors are all in on the action with obvious fun. Patrick Dempsey ably plays against his McDreamy image as the charming and somewhat hyperactive Rain Man. Tim Blake Nelson and Pruitt Taylor Vince are just too delicious in their slightly over-the-top ways as hillbillies with a penchant for explosives, and Mekhi Phifer also delivers a very whimsical performance as the, at first glance, rather commanding Darrien. But the rest of the cast, whether it's Ashley Judd, Jeffrey Tambor or recent Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, also complement the ensemble perfectly.

Surely, even though Flypaper may have the same screenwriters as Hangover, a crude fun with similar high gag density should not be expected here. The humour here is much more restrained and uses more classic means to entertain rather than resorting to the currently so popular fecal humour. Flypaper may not be a big hit, but this DVD premiere is an entertaining and very amusing rogue comedy. And for this there is then also a deserved: worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The technical implementation of the rogue comedy is on a decent level, even if neither in the sound, nor in visual terms any top values are achieved. The image is clean, detail sharpness is decent and the colour scheme is coherent. There is a slight amount of noise in some of the darker scenes, but it's hardly distracting. The audio is also on a good level, with the soundtrack and dialogue here setting the tone at most moments. However, at a few moments, such as during an explosion or a gunfight, the surround effects used are quite audible. Good!

Extras: As a bonus there are two extensive interviews with Patrick Dempsey and Ashley Judd (altogether about 30 min.), for which there are no German subtitles. In addition, there is the trailer for the film.

Conclusion: Flypaper is a nice rogue comedy, which thanks to some really good gags and the good-humored actors despite some hangs quite entertaining. The DVD is technically well realized, but the bonus material is a bit meager and also not subtitled. Nevertheless: recommended for lovers of lighter US entertainment and entertaining rogue comedies

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp