Put together a squeaky clean unemployed woman, a psychotic boxer, a cocky police officer on the run, and 50,000 dollars, and you get the hilarious movie, “One for the Money.”
Stephanie Plum (Katherine Heigl) has just gotten a divorce and has been unemployed for six months so she begins working for her cousin at his bail bonds shop as a recovery agent. Plum gets several files on felons who haven’t paid their bonds, including Joe Morelli (Jason O’Mara), a cop on the run. Bringing him in would get Plum the 50,000 dollars she needs to get back on her feet. Not only is Morelli worth 50 grand to Plum, but he also “nailed her then dumped her” in high school, and Plum still holds a grudge. This fuels her throughout the movie to “nail” Morelli and collect the 50 grand.
Since Morelli is a trained cop, Plum has to step up her game, and enlists the help of “Michelangelo’s ‘David’ dipped in caramel,” Ricardo Carlos “Ranger” Mañoso (Daniel Sunjata) who is a bounty hunter. Plum realizes that she is in way over her head when one person she talks to turns up dead and the psychopathic rapist boxer Benito Ramirez (Gavin-Kieth Umeh) is after her to keep her quiet. With a little help from an unlikely source, Plum might just get out alive.
Though the plot was interesting, there were many parts in the movie that seemed important, but didn’t amount to anything. There was one scene where Plum’s gun was in full view, where someone easily could have stolen it or used it against her.
Though it was a comedy, the movie still had an air of mystery and danger. There were exploding cars, murder, and Plum still had to figure out who was really behind it all. The danger and mystery were main parts of the plot and were portrayed very well, and did not overshadow the comedic side of the film.
The romance aspect was also strong. Morelli and Plum have many encounters throughout the movie, and the physical and emotional tension is almost always present. This worked out well in the movie, because the viewer was constantly wondering whether or not Plum and Morelli would end up together.
Even with mystery and romance, the writers were able to give the movie comic relief with the situations Plum gets herself into and the people she meets. Combining comedy, mystery, and romance brought a much larger audience and made for a much more entertaining film.
Although “One for the Money” has tons of mystery and drama, it also has a bit of romance and a lot of comic relief.
Ashley Beyer is a Lifestyles Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com