I wonder if any bit of this was ever true. Here’s the thing – in the 21st century, the only people in all of North America who can walk into a bank with a gun and leave two minutes later carrying over $1 M drive armored cars. I don’t know a great deal about banking, but I know this much – if you approach a teller with an intent to rob, you won’t leave the bank with more than a few grand and you will get caught; it’s just a matter of time. But other than common sense, logic, history and the mountain of provisions to assure that banks are secure places, there isn’t any reason the elderly can’t be involved.
Ancient artifacts Willie (Morgan Freeman), Joe (Michael Caine) and Albert (Alan Arkin) have been cheated of their pensions. Actually, this part struck me as very realistic … well, up to the part where a company toadie answered complaints directly. Corporate America answering to peons – not just peons but retired peons? HA! Good luck with that. As a trio, these relics resigned to suck it up and go gently into death. Willie needs a new kidney anyway, so it’s just a matter of time. Joe is down to minutes remaining before his eviction – a better story line would have included a balloon payment on his refi, rather than an adjustable rate. (Even if you’re giving the movie very generous leeway, say $100k, 30 yr. loan, the rate has to go from 2% to over 12% for the monthly payment to triple. Who gives a senior a 30-year refi? What adjustable teases at 2% and goes to 12%?)
“Um, Jim. I was told there would be no math in this review.” Look, I worked with housing loans for 18 years and I never get to mention it– so suck it up!
Point being – I don’t think this film was well researched … which is kind of awful given that it’s a remake. It’s pretty obvious that the screen rewrite energy went mostly into making us feel good about bank robbery – isn’t it great when old folks are chummy? Bet those bastards had it comin’! Going in Style also wanted us to know the mechanics of heist were problematic for a certain age set. It didn’t go so far as to have some doddering fool forget what he’s doing in the middle of holding up a teller, but the actuals weren’t far below that level of incompetence.
Where was I? Oh yeah, Joe’s eviction. Yeah, while Joe’s loan officer is being a dick, the bank gets held up by real bank robbers, the perps hitting tellers only and escaping successfully with $1.3 M in cash. 
Um … *cough*bullshit!*cough* Wha? Did I say something? No, I didn’t. Far from feeling vulnerable, Joe is inspired by the crime around him; how hard could it be? And the answer is, of course, “not at all when it’s fictional.”
Going in Style is obviously a good natured anthem of sorts for grandfathers and great grandfathers. “Do not go gentle into that good night…” You’re not kidding. Too bad Dylan Thomas didn’t write about knocking over liquor stores.
It’s hard to conceive a more amiable trio of men – do you know anybody who doesn’t like Caine, Arkin, or Freeman? Hence, it’s impossible to hate this film no matter how far-fetched. Their trial run of knocking over a grocery store has some truly hilarious moments, albeit most everything in this film worth seeing appeared in the trailer … and that includes Ann-Margret still bringing it as a sex symbol at the age of 75. More power to you, A-M.
Old man and old man and old man
Decided to rob a bank
Old man and old man and old man
Knew it was no prank
For days they thought
For days they planned
For days they drew lines in the sand
And they would wheeze
And they would gasp
And presented straws for us to grasp
Old man and old man and old man
Successfully staved eviction
Old man and old man and old man
Were clearly part of fiction
Rated PG-13, 96 Minutes
D: Zach Braff
W: Theodore Melfi
Genre: Fast lane grandpas
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: The elderly and easy
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Insurance companies, bankers
