Driving by her deep need for money, Stephanie, a young New Jersey divorced woman, who struggles against losing her job and has no source of living, searches for a job, but when she finds a job with her cousin, incidents come to challenge her, as she finds herself involved in trouble with a stranger.
There have been notable exceptions, but Heigl tends to imbue her characters with an off-putting mix of insecurity and abrasiveness. This film is a prime example.
Apart from the three girls behind me constantly shifting their legs so that it made my otherwise empty row feel as if I was in an earthquake, One For The Money is an utterly lifeless, joyless experience.
One doesn't need to have any familiarity with the Stephanie Plum novel series to immediately hear and see what an ill fit Katherine Heigl is for the role.
Heigl's comic timing is solid, and she knows her limitations well enough, but there's a hollowness at the movie's center, right where Heigl's heart should be.
I guess I can't call the movie sexist as it was largely produced, directed and written by women. So I'll settle for calling it dull, corny and amateurish instead.
New York Times
January 27, 2012
There is action of a sort -- a car blows up, shots are fired -- and what might pass for witty, sexy banter to someone who once overheard a conversation about an episode of Moonlighting.
Light and fluffy as a cupcake, Katherine Heigl's many talents are truly wasted in this story based on the first of eighteen best-selling Stephanie Plum novels.
