Simply Perfect

A lot of fun.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

For all the good actors playing in this film, which is certainly their worst in their filmography for most of them, it's worth watching. It's hard not to point the holes in the script that permit them to overact. The worst clown of them all is certainly Marlon Brando. The man has clearly no interest to play with his partners in every scene is appearing. Even Jack Nicholson in "The witches of Eastwick" was more subtle. Brando's performance is a shame, because the film is rather well made. Simoneau is doing his best to put some energy is this comedy script which is making us laugh, but for bad reasons. The authors of this script have worked hard to create such basic characters that they forgot to write a story that suits them. It's unfortunate that with this cast of good actors helped by numerous ones from Quebec province in smaller roles, everybody seems to do his best to survive it's scene with Brando. The result is so perky that it's hard to understand why it's not a cult movie.

Everyone in this movie, Marlon Brando, Donald Sutherland, Charles Sheen, Thomas Hayden Church, Mira Sorvino, seem to simply be going through the motions, yet occasionally, bright moments of very dark comedy arise from the murky script. Speaking of the script, it just never gives the feeling of being fully developed, the actors appear to be simply freewheeling as they go along. Nevertheless, the film is watchable, and there is a chance that repeat viewings may actually improve the experience. A curiosity at best for Brando's over the top performance, a bad film at worst for the uneven script, "Free Money" might have just enough weirdness to survive. - MERK

Currently this film has a 4.8 rating here at IMDb but in my opinion, VERY unjustly so! It teeters constantly between quirky, sweet humor, and macabre, almost cartoonish dark comedy. Which is to say, it's quintessential Brando. There's even a brief freeze-frame in the film of Brando with his hands flapping by his face in a 'neah-neah' gesture that is so 'Brandoesque'. He knows that his physical presence (a seemingly 500-pound ballet dancer) is a grand mixture of Father Christmas, Charlie Chaplin, Edward G. Robinson, and the man who bites off the heads of chickens at the circus. You just never know what you're going to get with him, so you - and the other characters in the film - are always kept a bit on edge (he played a somewhat similar character in "The Freshman"; another film that I've always thought was underrated).Anyway, the train heist is merely a minor plot point, so I'm guessing that maybe that's why the movie bombed. Audiences were probably expecting a heist story with a solid, formula plot (probably along the scale of "Oceans Twelve"), and I'm guessing they felt extremely uncomfortable with the film's humble speed. The big-name cast also probably didn't help, because the film has a real 'Canadian provincial' feel to it (Hollywood, this film is not!). Nevertheless, the entire cast is fantastic; particularly Thomas Haden Church who I never would have guessed was the same guy in "Sideways"! Perhaps I'm just nuts, but I think this is a sleeper gem that has yet to find its true audience.

"Free Money" is a middle of the road "comedy" with next to no laughs. This Charles outing is decent but this is a pretty low-key performance. Marlon Brando stands out as the big fat warden who is of father of two twin daughters that Charles and Thomas Haden Churches' character want to date. Brando brandishes a whip for no reason. He actually tortures Sheen and Church for minutes on end. It is kinda weird. There's also a subplot with Mira Sorvino and Donald Sutherland that forgets to develop and it hurts the film a little. I'm still trying to figure out why Charlie want to change his name. Every movie with "Charles" has been pretty bad.For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com