Parents' Guide to

Henry's Crime

By Renee Longstreet, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Aside from language, so-so caper comedy is fine for teens.

Movie R 2011 108 minutes
Henry's Crime Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 17+

Based on 2 parent reviews

age 18+

Disappointing. Boring. Sexual content/nudity/Swearing

18+

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
age 15+

Stay away from this disappointing movie.

1.5./5 Working the night shift as a toll collector on a lonely stretch of highway in Buffalo, New York, Henry (KEANU REEVES) is a man seemingly without ambition, dreams or purpose; a man sleepwalking his way through life. He gets his wakeup call early one morning when he becomes an unwitting participant in an ill-conceived bank heist. Rather than give up the names of the real culprits, Henry takes the fall and goes to jail. There, he meets the irrepressible Max (JAMES CAAN), a con man who's grown far too comfortable with the familiarity and security of his 'idyllic' life behind bars, but one who also helps plant an idea in Henry's mind which will change his life forever: for a man to find his purpose, he must first have a dream. Upon his release one year later, Henry finds his purpose. Having done the time, he decides he may as well do the crime. Discovering a long forgotten bootlegger's tunnel which runs from the very same bank to a theater across the alleyway, he convinces the reluctant Max to file for his long overdue parole -- and then recruits his former cellmate to help stage a robbery. Their plan is simple: by infiltrating the theater and its current production of Chekhov's, The Cherry Orchard, the unlikely duo will buy just enough time to dig their way to the adjacent bank vault and drive off with their loot. Unfortunately that plan also includes Henry taking the lead role in the play, where he finds himself slowly falling for the production's mercurial leading lady, Julie (VERA FARMIGA). By turns wry, off-beat, and simply hilarious, HENRY'S CRIME is the heartwarming story of a man who finds his purpose in life. And then finds his destiny. so this is basically a movie about a lost guy from nowhere in a nowhere place going nowhere knowing nothing really and ends up in the rest place. i would use a word one of my dear flixster friend uses for a bad movie, it was a BUMMER, lolx. not entirely but mostly. directed by Malcolm Venville, a newcomer who also made movie 44 inch chest that i know nothing about. i won't say much about it actually but just that it has some quirky scenes. it is a bizarre heist comedy with romance in it but everything is low in it. low heist, low comedy, low drama or actually no drama, but more tiredness and bizarreness. and has a stage play going on as well. i would say this movie was well intentioned but ends up offering nothing much. Keanu Reeves, nice to see him in a character like this, a guy who is lost in his life which is literally nothing he don't know what is going on or he wants. he ends up in a jail for a crime that he didn't commited, he meets James Caan there and becomes friends but after coming outs of jail he decide to actually do that crime while taking the help of Vera Farmiga, using her as accessory but she knows about it, she is a stage actress. i must say i loved the frustrating character of Vera Farmiga, she is a delight to watch. she performs really well, a girl who has dreams to go to hollywood after completing her play in this small town. Peter Stormare is the director of the play and boy his character was annoying. james Caan was good too and a bit nice performance by Keanu, though nothing impressive. i would say guys skip it.

This title has:

Great role models
Too much swearing

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (2):
Kids say: Not yet rated

It almost works to combine a playful romantic heist film with a satiric look at a local theater company mounting a play by Chekov. The problem is that when you're dealing with an actor of Reeves' limited range and a director who hasn't quite found the art of pacing, building tension, or guiding the performers, it's a losing battle. Farmiga's vibrantly funny, multilayered character -- she lights up the screen whenever she drops in -- stands out amidst the other players' over-the-top acting, particularly Peter Stormare and Fisher Stevens, who are buried in their own ham.

This movie is billed as a comedy, and there are a few very funny moments (provided solely by Farmiga and Caan). But there are also a number of unintentionally laughable story points (using a sledge hammer to destroy a dressing room wall while no one in the immediate vicinity hears anything was a favorite). HENRY'S CRIME is inoffensive and well-intentioned, but the execution falls well short of its potential.

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