High Heels and Low Lifes (2001)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Mel Smith

Writers:

Kim Fuller (story) &
Georgia Pritchett (story) ...

Release Date:

20 July 2001 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Crime has never been so attractive

Plot:

A nurse eavesdrops with a friend on a cell phone conversation that describes a bank heist. She and the friend then conspire to blackmail the robbers for $2 million.

Plot Keywords:

Blackmail | Nurse | Attempted Murder | Bank Robbery | Diver's Watch

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Minnie Driver	...	Shannon
Mary McCormack	...	Frances
Kevin McNally	...	Mason
Mark Williams	...	Tremaine
Danny Dyer	...	Danny
Michael Gambon	...	Kerrigan
Darren Boyd	...	Ray
Simon Scardifield	...	Tony
Len Collin	...	Barry
Jane Partridge	...	Receptionist
Jason Griffiths	...	Paramedic
Ranjit Krishnamma	...	Doctor
Mark Meadows	...	Romantic actor
Ben Walden	...	Bloodied actor
Michael Attwell	...	Duty Sergeant (as Mike Attwell)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some violence and nudity.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Finland:K-15 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | France:U | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Norway:15 | Canada:AA

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

Fragile Films

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Mel Smith]Pushing past Mason at the train station whilst he is trying to explain to the ticket collector why he has not got a ticket.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: On the train ride from London to Brighton there is an announcement "Next stop Haywards Heath" just before the train stops and the characters get of the train. The actors actually get off at Preston Park station (blurred sign visible).

Quotes:

Frances: 300 grand or the cops'll be on ya like a ton of... cops...
Shannon: Bricks.
Frances: ...bricks.

Movie Connections:

References "Mission: Impossible" (1966)

Soundtrack:

Disco Inferno

Starsky and Hutch Meets AbFab

High Heels and Low Lifes

The trailer tells us this is the next ‘Thelma and Louise,' but this wild and spicy flick is more like Starsky and Hutch meets Absolutely Fabulous. Brought to us by the veddy British, Fragile Films, the same people that brought us Spice World and is currently between two Wilde takes; 99's ‘Ideal Husband' and next year's ‘Importance of Being Ernest.' Girls just want to have fun.

The overall theme is that old-time-Hitchcock-religion where Joe Everyman becomes unwittingly entangled into crime and intrigue. The stars are Minnie Driver and Mary McCormack as a nurse and thespian respectively. These are the two Joanne Everybodies with a UK twist of sophisticated slapstick like Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau.

These women are presented as smart, strong and beautiful. Yay. And all the guys are either corrupt or useless. Just like real life. Min has a dumb boyfriend who's electronic eavesdropping picks up a cell phone mid-bank heist. Mary, the actress, fresh from a looping session with an animated tomato, sees the overheard phone conversation as an economic opportunity to squeeze the bad guys. `They'll never listen to a woman,' insists Driver. Mary says, ‘This is the twenty-first century and we do all jobs now.' Minnie crosses with `Do you want to extort money or raise consciousness?' Mary's answer, `Both!'

The rehearsals for the blackmail phone calls to the bad guys are a hoot. The writing comes from two comedy vets from the BBC, Km Fuller who cut his teeth on ‘Red Dwarf' and Georgia Pritchett from the sassy ‘Smack The Pony' and nicely directed by Mel Smith who did ‘Mr. Bean.'

Highlights include a very nice travelling matte midsection when both sides rally to battle reminiscent of the opening title sequence to Knots Landing and a smashing performance from Sir Michael Gambon, the great character actor which is another word for interesting.