The home invasion crime sub-genre is an every growing segment of the film industry. There are many ways to approach the subject from films that occur at a single set location to those that use the home invasion as a jumping-off point to a larger expanded story. Baby Money falls somewhere in between. Minny (Danay Garcia) has unrepentantly become pregnant. the father, low-level criminal Gil (Michael Drayer) joins a robbery scheme enlisting pregnant Minny as the wheelman alongside two other low lifes Tony (Travis Hamner) and Dom (Joey Kern) to steal a mystery purple box from a home on a quiet street. The quartet doesn't know the contents of the box or their other partners well but the job is lucrative and will give the couple a good nest egg to start parenthood. The job goes bad multiple people end up dead leaving Gil and Tony trapped in the neighbourhood with Minny as the only option to get them out.
Another trope of this sub-genre is also front and centre. Heidi (Tania V. Simpson) the technician that gave Minny her ultrasound earlier in the day also lives in the neighbourhood. She returns home to find her neighbourhood surrounded by cops and it's in her garage the pair of fugitives hideout. The pair soon find their way into Heidi's home disrupting her and her seizure riddled son picking the home as the spot where Minny will come to get them out.
Director Mikhael Bassilli links together a group of characters that all eventually intersect at Heid's home. The only exception being the strip club regular that recognizes Minny at a watering hole she holds up at after the botched job who is highly annoying until he becomes useful. Tony plays the role of the corned criminal that wants to burn everything to the ground as he sees no way out of their predicament. Gil on the other hand with a baby on the way is the thinker considering every possibility that could potentially get his fledgling family out of harm's way.
Baby Money is straight forward and as formulaic as it gets. The characters are as they appear throughout the film. The audience does develop a rooting interest in Minny, Heidi and her son's fate but the former two make several missteps that test the level of loyalty. There are several good elements here but as a whole, the piece may be limited to audiences that are truly devoted followers of the sub-genre.
** 1/2 Out of 4.
Baby Money | Makhael Bassilli | 2021 | U.S.A. | 93 Minutes.
Tags: Pregnancy, Ultrasound, Home Invasion, Shotgun, Man Hunt, Police Tape, Door to Door Search, Cerebral Palsy, Seizures, Purple Box.
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