Taglines: Two’s Company, Three’s A Crime.
Bandits movie storyline. Two convicts, one charismatic (Willis) and the other a hypochondriac (Thornton), break out of prison and immediately start a bank robbing spree, kidnapping bank managers, spending the night with their families, then going with the managers in the morning to rob the banks. Using a dim-witted stunt man as their getaway driver and lookout, the three successfully pull off several jobs (even gaining the attention of a television show about American criminals), and become known as “The Sleepover Bandits.”
Things are going great until the bank managers begin to realize that the robbers are non-violent and therefore no threat to them or their employees, changing the game for the Bandits. To add to the complications, a bored & unhappy housewife (Blanchett) ends up in the hands of the criminals, and begins to have romantic feelings for both Willis and Thornton, causing a sticky love triangle.
Bandits is a 2001 American criminal comedy-drama film directed by Barry Levinson. It stars Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchett. Filming began in October 2000 and ended in February 2001. It helped Thornton earn a National Board of Review Best Actor Award for 2001.
Thornton and Blanchett’s performances earned praise, as each was nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress Golden Globe Awards for their performances in this film, while Blanchett was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. It first opened in theaters on October 12, 2001. In its opening weekend, the film opened at #2, earning $13 million. The film grossed $67.6 million worldwide, against a budget of $75 million.
About the Story
Two friends and convicts, Joe (Bruce Willis) and Terry (Billy Bob Thornton), break out of Oregon State Penitentiary in a concrete mixing truck and start a bank robbing spree, hoping to fund a dream they share. They become known as the “Sleepover Bandits” because of their modus operandi: they kidnap the manager of a target bank the night before a planned robbery, then spend the night with the manager’s family.
Early the next morning, they accompany the manager to the bank to get their money. Using dim-witted would-be stunt man Harvey Pollard (Troy Garity) as their getaway driver and lookout, the three successfully pull off a series of robberies that gets them recognition on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list, and ultimately the reward for information leading to their capture is increased to $1 million.
When Kate, a housewife with a failing marriage (Cate Blanchett), decides to run away, she ends up in the hands of the criminals. Initially attracted to Joe, she also ends up in bed with Terry and a confused love triangle begins.
The three of them go on the lam and manage to pull off a few more robberies, but after a while the two begin to fight over Kate, and she decides to leave them. The two criminals then decide to pull off one last job.
Bandits (2001)
Directed by: Barry Levinson
Starring: Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Troy Garity, Brian F. OByrne, January Jones, Azura Skye, Stacey Travis, Richard Riehle, Micole Mercurio
Screenplay by : Harley Peyton
Production Design by: Victor Kempster
Cinematography by: Dante Spinotti
Film Editing by: Stu Linder
Costume Design by: Gloria Gresham
Set Decoration by: Merideth Boswell
Music by: Christopher Young
Distributed by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release Date: October 12, 2001
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