The Real Mad Women Wild With Money

The movie Mad Money is a story of three very gutsy women who ignore the social standards of right and wrong in order to create a better life for themselves. The group is brought together by their ringleader, Bridget (Diane Keaton) to steal the worn-out dollar bills that are to be shredded in the Federal Reserve in which they work. They devise a plan to steal these bills with the combination of all of their efforts. They are successful and continue this routine for a number of years. Each woman has a different motivation for the theft, but they all play a significant role in the operation.

In this movie a number of female stereotypes are evident, some themes are similar to the movie Boozer discusses, Thelma and Louise. In some ways it is amazing that these three ladies have created a plan and execute it successfully. It is not as highly developed as the boys in another crime movie, Oceans Eleven, but it is well thought out. Another socially inspired theme represented in the film is that all of the protagonists are “ women fugitives”, this heightens the thrill of freedom for the audience (Boozer 209).

Every woman in the story has her own motivations. Keaton’s characters’ motivation to rob the Federal Reserve is to maintain her upper class lifestyle when he husband gets laid off. Rather than depending on a man for money, she takes on a job as a janitor, but uses it as a means to steal a bigger salary. I believe this represent a strong theme in society that women, and people in general, depend on money to be happy. Apparently when women reach a certain standard of living, they would rather lie, cheat, and steal than live more modestly. Nina, played by Queen Latifah, needs the cash because she is a single mother and wants to make a better life for her children. I understand this is used to justify her actions, but I do not believe that just because you are in a tough situation you are above the law. Jackie, played by Katie Holmes, is the trailer park babe. She is easily convinced to join the collaboration because she also had a greed for the money. Perhaps this represents lower income women as less moral, which is not the case. All of the women choose to commit a crime because they see it as the best solution to their money issues.

This film could technically be construed as a female empowerment movie because the three want to build a better life for themselves, without the help from a male. Since the women are facing socioeconomic challenges and are fleeing their conditions without the role of a dominant male, they are uprooting a common idea that women must depend on the masculine hero (Boozer 211). This is not a feminist movie by any means because it does not promote any violence or degrading of men. It simply portrays the women as powerful and smart, not necessarily moral or submissive. The characters are inspiring for making their own path, no matter what their motivations are.