Bandits MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +3 Content: -2

Womanizer Joe (Bruce Willis) and health nut Terry (Billy Bob Thornton) team up after their prison break to rob banks in small towns from Oregon to California . The two become known as the sleep-over bandits because they hold bank presidents and their families hostage overnight in their homes. Early the next morning the bandits and hostages go to the bank for cash. One motherly bank president is delighted when the bandits come to her house because she has read news reports about how considerate Joe and Terry are. All goes well until they meet Kate (Cate Blanchett), a fiery red-head running away from a disastrous marriage. She persuades the bank robbers to let her join them and soon both men have fallen for her. Laughs are non-stop as the three become increasingly creative, win the affections of their victims and ultimately outsmart the law with the help of Joe's cousin Harvey (Troy Garity), an out-of-work stunt man. Anyone looking for a brief escape from reality just might find it in BANDITS.

What a shame such an entertaining film features so much unnecessary foul language, disrespect for authority and immorality. Joe convinces the bank officers that taking money from the vault doesn't hurt anyone because it's insured by the government, and the government steals through taxes. The two steal vehicles in their many get-aways, starting with a cement truck in prison, then charming young women into graciously handing over their car keys. Their first night out is spent in a home where they interrupt a teenage couple obviously having sex on the sofa. Joe and Terry make sure the young couple behaves during their overnight visit and talk to them like uncles. However, Joe and Kate become sexually involved quickly, with one scene of them in bed together. Later she and Terry also start an affair, with Kate declaring the two together would make the perfect man. Several strong profanities and a few obscenities foul the dialogue. No serious injuries result from the action and gunfire eruptions, but property damage is quite extensive. BANDITS glamorizes crime and disappoints with foul language and immoral behavior.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: MGM, 2500 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90404