Two bank robbers escape from prison to pursue their dreams of owning their own hotel in Mexico. Where are they going to get the money? Robbing banks. Things certainly change when they unexpectedly are joined by an emotional woman suffering from a bad marriage. Things get extra sticky when each man falls in love with her, and she with them.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this action/romance/comedy. But this slow-paced but enjoyable film was a well-crafted, well-told story about the mishaps of two friendly crooks. You realize you shouldn't like them, but you find that you can't help but love these unlawful men. And while Bruce Willis plays a pretty good tough, intimidating bank robber, Billy Bob Thornton clearly steals the show as his neurotic, hypochondriac partner. Cate Blanchett also offers an excellent performance as the odd eccentric woman, Kate, who meets up with the men and stays with them due to a poor marriage.

What hurt the film was it's length being over 2 hours and pace of the film being quite slow. While the beginning and end had some pretty good action sequences, the filler in the middle was kept alive by the characters' interesting performances and the random inclusions of some pretty funny moments. What also seemed a little uncomfortable was the fact that, although being in a really poor neglective marriage, Kate pursued romantic and physical relationships with both bank robbers (at different points in the film). While only the start of one encounter was even briefly seen, it was hinted at that they did have physical experiences (and often stayed together in the same rooms). As far as sexual content shown in the movie, we see two young teenagers making out in their home when Terry and Joe walk in. When startled, they get up, and we see the boy is in his boxers and the girl's pants are undone, implying they were fooling around. At this point, Joe instructs to the kids to compose themselves and reprimands them. Later in a scene where Joe and Kate start falling for each other, they begin passionately kissing in bed, and we see them rolling around, squirming in bed as they're kissing, and Kate's nightgown start to ride up (as they squirm) showing most of her leg before the scene ends.

As far as bloody instances in the film (Possible SPOILERS are in this paragraph), we see a man who has a few gun shot wounds randomly appear in this shirt, and we realize it's a fake trick (since he's a stuntman). Later we see two people shooting each other several times with pretty bloody results (which we soon learn is completely staged and fake). The movie isn't really all too violent, with the exception of its ending. But once you figure out what's going on, it's more-so meant to be funny.

I liked the movie, but knew it would have been better without the sexual content and swearing. A faster pace would probably have aided the film as well, although it allowed the viewer to really get to know the characters and to settle into their surroundings. The laughs weren't constant, and the movie took itself more seriously than presented in commercials and such, but it was a good enjoyable film.

Again, overall, I enjoyed this movie. It suffered from some unnecessary content and swearing but indeed could have been worse. However, please read all the content details carefully. - John DiBiase (reviewed: 10/13/01)

** Disclaimer: All reviews are based solely on the opinions of the reviewer. Most reviews are rated on how the reviewer enjoyed the film overall, not on content. However, if the content really affects the reviewer's opinion of the film, it will definitely affect the reviewer's rating.