[4.00/10] One for the Money (2012)

One for the Money (2012)

Brief review: Based on Janet Evanovich's novel of the same name, "One for the Money" is TV series director Julie Anne Robinson's first feature film, that unfortunately, apart from its stylish opening credits, fails on pretty much every single level. To start with the obvious, the movie's premise is way too similar to another 'bounty hunting' movie from two years ago, called, well, "The Bounty Hunter". For that reason alone, "One for the Money" instantly loses points for originality. To make things worse, due to its heavily unbalanced script, the film doesn't work neither as a comedy, nor as an action movie, let alone as a hybrid of the two genres. The humor is dry, the jokes barely work, and the action scenes are too unconvincing and clumsily-shot. Probably because of director Robinson's previous background, visually, "One for the Money" has that cheap made-for-TV feel written all over it. The production design is unimpressive, and the cinematography lacks any contrast at all, giving the film a rather bland look. On the bright side, the cast, does a reasonable job considering the weak script. Katherine Heigl's natural charm commands the screen every time she shows up, but she doesn't really have much to work with. "Terra Nova"'s own Jason O'Mara has an undeniably strong screen presence, but despite his chemistry with Heigl, his character Joe never fully engages, because of the flat writing.

Overall summary: The chemistry between Katherine Heigl and Jason O'Mara is there, and it has one or two amusing moments, but sadly, "One for the Money" feels way too familiar, and its 'TV' director struggles to balance action and comedy, leaving the end result sloppy.