Sure, Julie Anne Robinson's crime comedy, adapted from the popular Janet Evanovich novel, One for the Money, was filmed in and around Pittsburgh (subbing for Trenton, N.J.). But is that reason enough to see it? In a word: no.
Katherine Heigl stars as Stephanie Plum, an unemployed lingerie salesgirl, who, desperate for work, takes a bounty-hunting job. If that's not dumb enough, the top pick of the files is some guy from high school whom she slept with but who still hasn't called back. If only this were his crime, but it's some nonsense about the dude, now a cop, being framed for a murder.
The film stumbles along unconvincingly as Plum simultaneously: learns to hunt bail-skippers; chases after the cop (who's also chasing her); and solves the disappearance of the aforementioned murder's critical witness.
One for the Money is a lifeless, unfunny affair — the sort of film that plays late at night on a budget cable channel. The supporting cast is a checklist of "colorful" characters, seemingly ported in from dozens of other bad films: wacky granny (Debbie Reynolds), mouthy hookers, a violent boxer, a butcher-with-a-secret, a stoned Asian dude, a naked old man and a scandalized momma who perpetually makes the sign of the cross.
Save your money, and take your own tour of Pittsburgh.
