Cinema Saturday

One for the Money
Lakeshore Entertainment
May 15, 2012
PG-13 for ' violence, sexual references and language, some drug material and partial nudity'
info at IMDb/Blu-ray and DVD on Amazon/Instant Video

Based on Janet Evanovich's first Stephanie Plum novel, One for the Money follows (semi) newly divorced and (semi) newly fired Stephanie as she lands a job at her cousin's bail-bond business.

Her past in lingerie sales might not have prepared her ideally for finding bail jumpers, but it's her past that gets her ready for her first assignment. Joe Morelli, someone from romantic past that she holds in less than a high regard.


I haven't read any of the Stephanie Plum books and despite my I-don't-watch-movies-before-reading-the-book(s)-if-I-plan-to-read-the-book, I do actually, someday, plan to. I thought that this was a light enough series that I would be okay watching the movie first.

The Heather Wells books (Big Boned, especially) by Meg Cabot are actually what got me more interested in reading the series and after seeing the movie I'm even more convinced that I'll like the series.

This doesn't seem to be a movie where you need to read the books first, nor does it seem to be one where it will diverges so much from the books that readers who love the series will dislike it. It may be different in some ways from the books - I'm not sure any movie adaptation isn't different from the book that inspired it - but it seems to keep the heart of the books.

There's a ton of humor in One for the Money. Katherine Heigl is smooth and funny as the main character. It's incredibly easy to believe that she is Stephanie Plum, an already well established - in print - character.

It's not a serious movie, just a fun one. I think some of the Evanovich humor may have been taken out (from what I've heard) to keep it more PG-13?

As it doesn't look like there will be more movies, I'll have to get this series started to see where things go with the characters.