Two brothers and a friend, all blue-collar workers, come across millions of dollars in lost cash and make a plan to keep their find from the authorities, but it isn't long before complicatio... Read allTwo brothers and a friend, all blue-collar workers, come across millions of dollars in lost cash and make a plan to keep their find from the authorities, but it isn't long before complications and mistrust weave their way into the plan.Two brothers and a friend, all blue-collar workers, come across millions of dollars in lost cash and make a plan to keep their find from the authorities, but it isn't long before complications and mistrust weave their way into the plan.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 16 wins & 24 nominations total
- Drinker
- (as Timothy Storms)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDuring a 2002 interview on the National Public Radio program "Fresh Air," Bill Paxton told interviewer Terry Gross that he didn't know that his own father had been cast in this movie (in the small role of Mr. Schmitt) until he arrived at a production office at the start of filming and saw his father's headshot on the wall among the other cast members'. It turned out that John Paxton had written a letter to director Sam Raimi saying, "I've always admired your films, and I was wondering if there were any small parts that I'd possibly be right for." And Raimi gave him an audition.
- GoofsA funeral scene in the latter half of the movie takes place in the middle of winter, but is a full burial service. In Minnesota, as is the case with other northern locales where the ground is frozen for several months of the year, the funeral for someone who died in the winter would occur in two parts: a "real-time" memorial service followed by spring interment.
- Quotes
[Hank talks to the FBI agent about their stories to the police]
Neil Baxter: Looks like we're both gonna have an awful lot of explaining to do.
Hank Mitchell: Just me.
[Hank shoots the gun into Baxter's head]
A Simple Plan tells the story of three regular guys who find a suitcase full of money in a downed airplane. Assuming the money is drug money, they figure that no one will notice if they keep it. The "plan" does start off simple. Hank (Bill Paxton), his brother Jacob (Billy Bob), and Jacob's idiot, loser, drunk friend Lou (Brent Briscoe) decide that to hang on to the money for six months. If it's not missed by Spring, they will split the cash between them and go their seperate ways. Things seem fine at first, with Hank as the natural leader, but soon all goes to hell once greed sets in and morals start to fly out the window. It's all down hill from here.
While the plot may be simple, what really makes this thing work is the characters. All three of the leads are totally believable in their roles. Hank could be easily be a friend of yours, Jacob could be the guy behind you in the checkout line at the grocery store, and Lou could be the town drunk you see walking on the side of the road.
This is a character movie. Simple story, complex characters and their reaction to a seemingly easy situation. Billy Bob Thornton became so devoted to playing his role, he shed 30lbs to play Jacob. You can tell that a lot of the pain you see in Jacob's eyes is not just acting. The actor has truly felt this guy's pain. Playing this role was NOT easy on the guy and (in my opinion) he should have gotten that Oscar.
Bill Paxton is wonderful as Hank. He has the look and feel of that guy (every town in America has at least one) who had so much potential, but never left his home town. He is the brains and the moral center of the three.
Brent Briscoe (Scooter Hodges from "Sling Blade") plays the part of Lou. Lou is the best friend of Jacob and the town drunk. Although many would argue that it is Jacob's fault, much of the trouble that comes their way is brought on by Lou's ignorance. He is a thoroughly annoying and disgusting character and Briscoe did a fine job with the part considering how likeable he was in Sling Blade.
I'm not going to give away any more of what happens. Earlier I described this movie as horrifying. It is. Why? The characters are all people we could actually know. No, this isn't a horror flick, but decent, ordinary people can turn into monsters at the drop of a hat. Disregard Leonard Maltin's review (with all do respect) where he says that the "transformation of the characters simply does not ring true." It does and I've seen it happen. The movie is, in no way, as harsh and cold as the book but the point is still made. 9/10
- billybrown41
- Jun 27, 2001
- Permalink
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- How long is A Simple Plan?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- El plan
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $30,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $16,316,273
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $390,563
- Dec 13, 1998
- Gross worldwide
- $16,316,273
- Runtime2 hours 1 minute
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1