Flypaper

"Two sets of bank robbers. One very sticky heist."

2011 1h 27m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 825

MysteryComedyCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A man caught in the middle of two simultaneous robberies at a bank desperately tries to protect the teller with whom he's secretly in love.

“Two sets of bank robbers. One very sticky heist.”

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Cast

Patrick Dempsey
Tripp
Ashley Judd
Kaitlin
Tim Blake Nelson
Peanut Butter
Mekhi Phifer
Darrien
Matt Ryan
Gates
Jeffrey Tambor
Gordon Blythe
John Ventimiglia
Weinstein
Pruitt Taylor Vince
Jelly

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Rob Minkoff
Writers: Scott Moore, Jon Lucas
Languages: English
Countries: Germany, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 63% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 15 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Rob Minkoff, shot by Steven Poster. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Swihart. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Tom Finan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Patrick Dempsey and Ashley Judd and Tim Blake Nelson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Rob Minkoff directs. Steven Poster behind the camera. John Swihart scores. Tom Finan cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Germany, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Earned back only 63% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 15 years ago.
4International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.
5Directed by Rob Minkoff, shot by Steven Poster. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by John Swihart. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Tom Finan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Patrick Dempsey and Ashley Judd and Tim Blake Nelson carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Two sets of bank robbers. One very sticky heist.".
10IMDB entry: tt1541160 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Released under 13 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Steven Poster
Original score: John Swihart
Editing: Tom Finan
Production design: James A. Gelarden
Costume design: Mona May
Makeup / hair: Marcos Gonzales
Stunt coordinator: Phil Culotta
Runtime: 87 min · 1h 27m
Status: Released
Budget: $5,000,000
Box office: $3,142,154
Return: 63% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Flypaper (2011)

Also by

Rob Minkoff

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

DoryDarko2017-02-21
★ 8/10
Flypaper is an unconventional 'whodunit' in the form of a screwball comedy. It starts off with a guy named Tripp (played by Patrick Dempsey) who walks into a bank to get some change and ends up in the middle of two simultaneous bank robberies, executed by two different gangs, one of whom highly professional, the other one very much the opposite. What follows is an idiotic muddle of story lines and plot twists, which overall is pretty funny and at times even hilarious. Flypaper's biggest asset is its wild array of stereotype characters, which certainly doesn't always work out, but in this case does so very well, mostly because of the clever writing. The dialogue is sharp and witty, and the way the characters are played out against one another is really the stuff of great comedies. One of the best characters is one called Peanut Butter, played by the great Tim Blake Nelson, who, together with his buddy Jelly forms a duo of laughably amateurish hillbilly bank robbers. The other team of (professional) bank robbers is set together of another great group of stereotypes, namely The Black Guy, The Jewish Guy and The British Guy (not their actual character names, just pointing it out), which in itself sounds like a "three guys walk into a bar" joke, and it actually works out funnier than you might expect. And then there's the group of hostages (all bank employees), all with their own crazy little character traits, paranoia and strange ulterior motives, more afraid of each other than of the people robbing their bank. I must admit, I didn't have great expectations for Patrick Dempsey, but he pleasantly surprised me with his knack for timing and delivery. His character is a completely hyper-active genius, brilliant with numbers and facts, dead-set on solving the strange mysteries that keep piling up in the bank as the robberies go on, and Mr Dempsey plays his role convincingly. Who knew McDreamy had a serious sense of humour. Ashley Judd is a reliable actress, and she can really deliver some good comedy too. But I have to mention one thing: it's really such a shame that all these actresses (who were never bad looking to begin with) have succumbed to the pressures of botox and fillers. She has a really pretty face, but now that she's obviously had some work done, her eyes look puffy and something overall just doesn't look right. The reason I say this is because it gets in the way of her acting, making her expressions a little screwy a times, and this somewhat ruins the experience when she's trying to deliver a certain emotion. And even in a light-hearted comedy, this can work against the quality of someone's performance. It's too bad, but fortunately Ms Judd still has plenty of talent to make up for it. Actually, all the actors are really good in their roles, they're none of them really big names, but obviously, that's not saying anything. There's only one case of miscasting, and that's Mekhi Phifer. He's a very fine actor, but obviously more suited for serious roles. He took his role way too seriously, maintaining a poker face even when everybody around him was acting like a bunch of goofs. And even when he was seemingly trying to be funny, he didn't really deliver. So, no more comedies for you, Mekhi. Story wise, Flypaper basically unfolds as an increasingly intricate game of "Clue", at one point even bearing some resemblance to a funny version of The Usual Suspects. The plot starts out pretty much literally thin as flypaper, but thickens throughout, without getting ridiculously over thought. The story has some inconsistencies throughout, but they're hardly any bother. And the ending is kind of a cliché, but let's face it, have you ever played "Clue" without saying 'I knew it all along!' at the end? Right. There's nothing that actually spoils the fun at any point. This is a semi-dark, adult comedy, with a healthy dose of profanity and crude humour, though innocent like a baby compared to Tarantino or Ritchie. Speaking of which, I sometimes got the feeling that director Rob Minkoff watched these two very closely and took notes, considering some camera techniques and directorial gimmicks he threw in here and there, which is OK up to some level, but not when your film starts to look like a silly rip-off (Snatch comes to mind...). Fortunately, Flypaper manages to keep true to a style of its own, simply 'borrowing' some inspiration from other great crime comedies. And there's nothing wrong with that. Overall, Flypaper is an entertaining Sunday evening-filler, somewhere in between indie and low-budget Hollywood. It may be somewhat forgettable but it's surely good enough to keep you in your seat from start to finish, and I would certainly recommend it for an evening of good fun. (February 2012)

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