Scorched (2003)

★★★
Scorched came and went so fast it passed virtually unnoticed in the public's eye. At first sight, that doesn't seem like a big deal. Receiving top billing are Alicia Silverstone and Rachael Leigh Cook, two actresses who delivered terrific performances in their respective breakout movies but have since slipped into obscurity with few successes after their initial brush with fame.

That leaves Woody Harrelson and John Cleese to pick up the slack, but if a movie starring such respected actors sneaked its way into video stores, then it must be a bomb. At least, that's what logic would suggest, but as I watched Scorched, I was surprised by its lack of distribution. It's not a great movie, but there's no reason why it should have received the cold shoulder, especially with many weaker films making their way into theaters on a consistent basis.

Sheila (Silverstone) and Jason (Harrelson) work in a bank in a desert town, possibly in southern Nevada or California. Independent of each other, they decide to rob the bank. Sheila doesn't like the boss, so she views the crime as a way to get revenge. Jason has a personal grudge against local tycoon Mr. Merchant (Cleese), a producer of get-rich-quick videos. Sheila's plan is to break into the A.T.M. machines over the weekend and steal the loot, while Jason wants to get a copy of Mr. Merchant's safe deposit box key and steal his fortune.

Another employee, Stu (Paulo Costanzo of Road Trip), has a plan of his own. Over the weekend, he will steal money from the minivault. Each thief has the key to the front door, so gaining access isn't a problem. They plan on stealing money from three separate parts of the bank, so the question arises over whether they will discover each other or not.

Stu proceeds with his part of the plan sooner than expected when the opportunity arises. His plan is to take the money to Las Vegas and bet it on roulette. If he wins, he'll return the money and keep his winnings. His brother Max (David Krumholtz) goes along, mainly to encourage Stu if he starts to chicken out. Rachael Leigh Cook's character has nothing to do with the heist. Her brother is looking for a job. He shows up for his first day of work on Monday morning, the day after all the money was stolen. That's how the movie begins before it goes back to Friday to watch the events unfold.

As I mentioned, Silverstone and Cook have been looking for that elusive successful follow-up to Clueless and She's All That, respectively. Silverstone has done some good movies since, like Blast from the Past, but her appearance in Batman & Robin set her career on a bumpy road from which she has yet to recover (she tried television, and her show Miss Match didn't last long). Cook went on to appear in Josie and the Pussycats, which was her only other big film. It was a box office dud, though it was a sneaky satire of the music industry that many viewers at the time missed.

Scorched is a caper film, but not with the same complexity as Ocean's Eleven. The script is more interested in the reasons for robbing the bank, as opposed to the intricacies of the plans themselves. That isn't to say that the movie is condoning their actions. Rather, it's not taking a stand at all one way or the other. These are three people who are in a situation that requires immediate action, and we can either protest what they do or just enjoy being in their company for 90 minutes. I prefer the latter.

© 2005 Silver Screen Reviews