Finding Steve McQueen

Everyone loves a good genre film and the heist film is certainly one of Hollywood's favorite charms. A craft as revered as William Goldman and Elmore Leonard. As cool as a Tarantino-curated soundtrack. And why not? Those stories feed into inherent impulses. An underdog sticking it to The Man. The Anybody gambling for a life as a Somebody. Thieving out of sport. Or need. At times, crime does not pay in the glitzy cinematic world. That unlikely hero fails. And falls. Worlds are destroyed. Irreparable harm befalls both innocents and the not-so. Other times? Ah, other times everything simply works out.

Based on the startlingly-real but mostly-unreported 1972 United California Bank Robbery, the film Finding Steve McQueen narrates one of the largest bank robberies in US history. Much like the quiet nature of the actual robbery, this underdog film suffered a criminal VOD release instead of well-deserving theatrical accolades.

Screenwriter and Southern California News Group reporter Keith Sharon broke the story of Harry Barber - bank robber, getaway man, and Steve McQueen idol - in his Stealing Nixon's Millions expose, later serialized in his true crime podcast Crime Beat. Barber, along with professional-criminal Enzo Rotella (a delightful William Fichtner who brings a meal of prosciutto and provolone along with his SAG credentials) and a crew from Youngstown, Ohio, steal away to Laguna Niguel, CA where, apparently, President Richard Nixon stashed over $30 million; election money absconded from the Dairy Farmers' Association. The robbery was a success but the story, much like this film, went mostly unheard.

The film, directed by Mark Steven Johnson, cleverly jumps around in time setting Harry's new small-town life against the daring heist, and the FBI's manhunt, led by a French horn-playing Forest Whitaker. Johnson fashions a more comedic look at the heist genre. More Old Man & The Gun; less Reservoir Dogs. And the style works. Travis Fimmel plays out Barber with equal parts McQueen fetishism and wide-eyed "What, me worry?" enthusiasm. Fimmel sells the role. Barber not only wins the heart of Molly Murphy (Rachael Taylor), but his aw-shucks honesty makes him that perfect Anybody. One that deserves to be a Somebody.

Finding Steve McQueen is a fun ride complete with an 8-track's worth of 70s pop-culture references and music. The film weaves to the genre beats yet for all of its real-life incredibleness, doesn't pop those points to their best. Perhaps it's the honesty of the tale, or too much silliness, but the film ultimately downplays the usual genre tropes and regrettably eliminates the amped-up thrill, taming the crime, and restricting the heat between Barber and Murphy.

Unusual, ridiculous, honest, fun, Finding Steve McQueen is an entertaining heist flick that successfully steals the time and deserves a happy ending.

Finding Steve McQueen is a love story disguised as a bank robbery movie. This is a Baby Driver wannabe, without the great production, direction and dialogue. If you've never heard of Travis Fimmel before, well, this film won't leave a lasting impression of him with you either. Finding Steve McQueen has 24 Producers, so if the tempo or mood or anything else seems uneven-there you go. Everything starts out exciting as a bank heist film, but then it flips to a love story and by the 1 hour marks it's ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz. The soundtrack is fantastic, so this is the movie you play in the background while doing something else, like surfing the internet.

From the beginning, I wanted to dislike this movie. The lead just didn't strike me as very interesting to start. But like the simple plot and easy to digest acting, he gets better as the movie moves on. The ending was simple and endearing. Nah, it's not that amazing or groundbreaking in the least but it's fun and well paced.

This movie is a good date flick, by a guys standard. Girls will probably enjoy it as well. Travis Fimmel is ok as the leading man but it appeared to me that he is still learning his craft. He is more than capably supported by a great group of actors to help him carry this movie. William Fichtner, Forest Whitaker, John Finn and Molly McQueen are engaging and fun to watch. Louis Lombardi steals every scene he utters dialogue in and Rhys Coiro eerily channels Hal Linden. If this movie didn't have the Nixon/True story angle I don't think it would be as captivating.

I hadn't even heard of this movie before I found a Blu-ray copy of it at my local library today. But I know from experience that taking a chance on unknown movies often uncovers gems and sleepers, so I decided to watch it. Was the movie worth my time? Well, overall I would say yes. The movie has an irresistible premise that turns out to be a true story (can't believe this true story was never filmed before), and the story never has any dull spots in its telling. There is also some effective humor and suspense along the way. Also, the soundtrack has a number of great oldies played that add flavor and a feel for the period. But at the same time, the movie has some weakness that prevents the movie from being great. For starters, it seems to assume that its audience will know all about the background of the Watergate/Richard Nixon scandal; although I knew enough about this part of history to know the references, viewers who don't have my knowledge may be very confused. Also, the movie's unconventional storytelling style (flashforwards and flashbacks) results in some plot threads and characters to be put on the backburner for long periods of time, resulting in the movie losing some momentum. As it turns out, some key characters are really weak; we learn very little about the ringmaster of the crime or the protagonist's brother (including what happened to them after their last scenes.) Also, while the filmmakers are to be commended for managing to do an entire period piece on a low budget, some production values do look a little undernourished. Don't get me wrong from what I've just listed - the movie is still worth a look, but it may be best to wait until you can see it for free like I was able to.