Marmalade

If you have grown up in a hard working family like i did back in the 80´s, you learned that nothing is for free in this world. If you wanted something when you entered your teen years you save the money you got during summer jobs. Of course me and my sister got some things for our birthdays, during Christmas and sometimes from our grandparents. But we did have to work extra just to have some extra money on our accounts just in case we needed new clothes, wanted to go to the cinema with friends or do other things. I think it was a good thing we were brought up this way in my family, especially since my grandfather always said:- Work hard, do right for yourself and it will pay off. He was right because my former bosses in the past were always happy with what a hard worker i was. I think it is good to teach children that do what is right in society. Even if you will face many difficult challenges in life, always do the best you can to make the best of the situation. What if you come from an ordinary day job with just an ordinary paycheck but wanted to live a completely different life by robbing a bank? That´s exactly what happened in the very funny heist comedy Masterminds from director Jared Hess ( director of Napoleon Dynamite ). This film tells the story of security guard David Scott Ghantt ( Zach Galifianakis ) who loves his job and especially enjoy spending time with his coworker and friend Kelly Campbell ( Kristen Wiig ). When Kelly is fired at the company Loomis Fargo & Company where they both work, she is introduced to an idea by criminal Steve Eugene Chambers ( Owen Wilson ) to make a robbery of Loomis Fargo & Company. They want David to be the main robber to actually fix the heist, making sure they get as much cash as possible. The robbery is done but every detail may not have gone as they planned. Masterminds is definetely the funniest heist comedy with so many crazy characters and everything is done on a over the top level of insane acting. Comedians such as Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, Kate McKinnon and Jason Sudeikis are all delivering funny dialogue with their crazy characters. If you want to watch a really funny comedy you simply have to see Masterminds, also know this is actually based on a real robbery that happened back in 1997. We get a lot of heist films released every year where most films are either action films or thrillers. But early this year i saw trailer for a heist film called Marmalade that looked quite different from most heist films. I finally sat down to watch Marmalade qurious if this film would be as different as the trailer made the film look.

In a small town, Baron ( Joe Keery ) is incarcerated after getting caught after a heist with his girlfriend Marmalade ( Camila Morrone ). While sitting in jail he meets his jail mate criminal Otis ( Aldis Hodge ) who he tell his whole story to. Baron even promise Otis 250.000 U.S. dollars if he helps him out and he will make sure he get the money where Marmalade will hid the money. The question is will there be any way Baron can get out or have he runned out of luck?

Marmalade have a very interesting approach when it comes to the heist genre. You have two very different characters that unite, where one of them have clearly been a criminal for a long time and the other character just wants to take care of his sick mother. This gives Marmalade a chance to tell the story from especially two people´s lives and how they ended up working together. One thing i especially appreciate about this film is the colorful personality of Marmalade played by actress Camila Morrone. At first she might seem like the colorful cute girl a lot of men would be attracted to, but once you get to see the real her dealing with mental problems you understand this is a young woman who clearly needs help. I do like the portait though from Camilla as she understood this film needed a colorful personality to make this film stand out in the heist genre. Not only that she also manage to capture the personality of a person who is struggling with mental health and that i have to say proves Camila must have worked hard to find a realistic balance in her performance. Speaking about character male actor Joe Keery ( mostly known for Netflix TV series Stranger Things ) as the shy man Baron deliver a character i think a lot of men can recognize themselves with. How it is to fall in love with a woman and you really want to believe she is the one you have always dreamed of. That´s one part of the story where you really feel bad for Baron because he really care for Marmalade where she only cares about the money basically. So how does this film work outside this strange relationship? There are some charming scenes mixed with very bizarre moments and i do like the combination, you never really know what Marmalade will do in this small town. The planning of the robbery scenes are actually charming as strange as it might sound. You also begin to wonder if she really does have some kind of feelings for Baron? Maybe it is because you enjoy these characters working together that brings something magical to the table. There is actually a surprise twist that i did not expect when it comes to a character called Otis ( played well by actor Aldis Hodge ), i won´t reveal it but it definetely took me by surprise. The heist itself is nothing special or interesting so it is basically the characters that makes this film unique. As a romantic heist film i have to say Marmalade manage to do enough to make the audience intrigued. If you want to see something different in the heist genre i would recommend Marmalade for sure. It is nice to see that director Keir O´Donnell tried to give this genre new life and i think he did a good job. Would anyone like some marmalade on their toast? Don´t mind if i do, i believe i might need the energy that the character Marmalade delivers in this film.

Rating: DDD