Small Time Crooks (PG, 2000)

Woody Allen's lightest comedy in years is a slight story of an unsuccessful crook named Ray (Woody Allen), who comes up with a plan for one big heist. He wants to rent a storefront that is two doors down from a bank and then tunnel underneath to rob the vault. He and his friends are hopelessly incompetent. But it turns out that his wife, Frenchy (Tracey Ullman), makes sensational cookies, and the business they started as a cover for the tunneling turns out to be a huge success. A little abashed at having made more money legitimately than they ever dreamed of stealing, they settle in to enjoy it but find that they have different dreams. He wants to drink beer, eat cheeseburgers, and watch television. She wants to be a patron of the arts and have dinner parties with socialites. But behind her back, the people she invites snicker about her "flawless vulgarity." When she meets a handsome, charming art dealer with an English accent (Hugh Grant), she asks him to teach her about culture.

SMALL TIME CROOKS has something of a fairy tale quality to it, as when the characters get what they wished for it was not what they had in mind. The small-time crooks learn that when you are rich there are big-time crooks to worry about. And at least some of the characters learn that what matters is the people you love. Ullman and Grant are fun to watch, but the real standout performance is Elaine May as Frenchy's dim-witted cousin.

Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Jon Lovitz, Tracey Ullman, Woody Allen
Genre: Comedy
Run time: 94 minutes
Theatrical release: May 19, 2000
DVD release: December 19, 2000
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: language