Where the Money Is
Where the Money Is is a 2000 comedy-drama crime film directed by Marek Kanievska, written by E. Max Frye, and starring Paul Newman, Linda Fiorentino and Dermot Mulroney. The film, a box office failure,[1] was Newman's second-to-last live-action theatrical release, though he would continue doing award-winning voice-over and live action television work for a number of years.
| Where the Money Is | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Marek Kanievska |
| Produced by | Chris Dorr Ridley Scott Charles Weinstock Chris Zarpas |
| Screenplay by | E. Max Frye Topper Lilien Carroll Cartwright |
| Story by | E. Max Frye |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Mark Isham |
| Cinematography | Thomas Burstyn |
| Edited by | Garth Craven Samuel Craven Dan Lebental |
Production company | PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Gramercy Pictures Intermedia Films Pacifica Film Distribution Scott Free Productions IMF |
| Distributed by | USA Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $28 million |
| Box office | $7 million |
Plot
Professional thief Henry Manning is in an Oregon nursing home's care. Having apparently suffered a massive stroke, he is immobile and mute. Henry is in the care of Carol Ann McKay, a high school prom queen who married her boyfriend Wayne, the prom king and star of her school's football team.
Carol Ann is mesmerized by the fact that Henry was such a successful bank robber, having eluded the police for 30 years. But she starts to suspect Henry isn't as sick as he seems. She attempts to get a rise out of him by doing a lap dance, but fails. So convinced is she that Henry is faking, she gives him the ultimate test, pushing Henry and his wheelchair off a pier into the water, defying him to swim or die. Wayne arrives just as this is happening and dives in after him, but a few moments later, Henry walks out of the lake and obviously has to admit he's been faking it to both of them. Exposed as a fraud, Henry is at least relieved to be able to walk and talk again. They take him to a local bar to hear his explanation.
Preferring a nursing home to prison as a means of escape, Henry had studied yoga and vajrayana as a way to fake the symptoms of a stroke. Soon he is dancing and drinking with them. One day soon thereafter, Carol approaches Henry with the idea of robbing the local bank. Henry tells her she has lost her mind, but soon afterwards, he changes his mind as the plan morphs into an armored transport heist with Henry coaching both Carol and Wayne as to their roles in the upcoming event. Although the night-long heist hits a couple rough spots, it is successful.
The next day, Henry is scheduled to be transferred back to prison. Carol Ann feels bad for him, intercepts the transfer, and breaks him free. Upon arriving home to pick up Wayne, Carol and Henry discover Wayne has sold them out. As the police surround the house, Wayne walks out the front door to give himself up. Moments later, Henry and Carol bust out the back in Wayne's car. Henry drops Carol off in the middle of the woods to get away on foot with the loot, and as the police are pursuing him, he drives Wayne's car into a lake and is presumed dead, leaving Wayne to take the fall.
In the final scene, Henry and Carol Ann are shown at a jewelry store whose security system mysteriously stopped working, with Henry pretending to be wheelchair bound again, preparing for a new heist.
Cast
- Paul Newman as Henry Manning
- Linda Fiorentino as Carol Ann McKay
- Dermot Mulroney as Wayne
- Susan Barnes as Mrs. Foster
- Anne Pitoniak as Mrs. Tetlow
- Bruce MacVittie as Karl
- Irma St. Paule as Mrs. Galer
- Michel Perron as Guard
- Dorothy Gordon as Mrs. Norton
- Rita Tuckett as Mrs. Weiler
- Diane Amos as Kitty
- Dawn Ford as Cheryl, Wife #2
- T.J. Kenneally as Farwell Welk
- Rod McLachlan as Lloyd the Cop
- Bill Corday as Grounds Worker
- Gordon McCall as Handyman
- Charles S. Doucet as Tom
- Arthur Holden as Bob
- Frank Fontaine as Cop
- Richard Jutras as Manager
- Frankie Faison as Security Guard
- Vlasta Vrána as Jewelry Store Employee
- Heather Hiscox as TV Announcer
- Michael Brockman as FBI Agent
References
- "Where the Money Is". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2015-05-22.