Cinematography by Erik Wilson. Directed by Jared Hess.
Erik Wilson shot 'The Double' with Jesse Eisenberg. If you haven't seen '
The Double' I'd recommend it.
'Masterminds' never seems to get comfortable. The actors, the pacing, the story, none of it ever settles into any kind of groove where everything is heading in the same direction. Galifianakis is David Ghantt. And he IS David Ghantt. Zack completely disappears into the part. It's pretty much the thread holding the movie together.
The problem is the entire crux of the movie hinges on the audience identifying with David, or at least having some pity on him. But the movie is too concerned with "doing funny things". Every time the story starts to flow and pick up steam we shut it down to go watch David try on suits, or practice in an alley for the robbery. He's too much of a buffoon to connect with or see yourself in.
Also, all of these people are poor white trash. I don't know if you realized it. But you won't be able to forget since the director reminds us every 2 minutes. Once the robbery is successful we get a series of "isn't it funny when poor people get money?" jokes. So if you like mocking the poor and their dreams 'Masterminds' is right up your alley. They also dig deep and make fun of a homeless person living in a box.
I'm just gonna leave the shot above there and without a caption. You can use your imagination. Needless to say my fantasy football team has a new avatar.
The film has some good work by ancillary characters. Sudeikis as the hit-man was fun. His sequence where Steve hires him is funny and dark. Owen Wilson played an evil version of Owen Wilson from what I can tell. His character is a soulless
ophidian. And Leslie Jones doesn't disappoint, but her character lacked any structure or shape. Her scenes came off as if they were quick sketches to pad out the run time. There's a version of this movie where Jones plays cat and mouse with David, mistaking him for a criminal mastermind. It would have given us a story to invest in. Plus there's the build to final reveal that her arch-nemesis was a clueless dork.
'Masterminds' is not recommended. The sum of the parts are greater than the whole.
