Criminal Ways is the tale of a gang of misfit thieves who get far more than they bargain for when they set up a diamond heist.
The gang is led by self-proclaimed 'hardened' criminal Marcus, played by Russell Dykstra (Romulus, My Father). His very pretty sister, Kirsty, is played by the adorable Isla Fisher (Confessions of a Shopaholic). Danny is played by Nick Giannopoulos, who also directed the film. Billionaire Aurora Van Dyke is played by Lena Cruz (Shortland Street). The gang is basically a bunch of misfits, but not in the wholesome, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" kind of way. The gang is crass, zany, and definitely a bit odd.
Enter suburban song-and-dance man Danny. He has a lot passion for the arts, but unfortunately he's a bit clumsy and without much real talent. Even worse, he is not very street-wise either. Surprisingly, at first Danny wisely doesn't want anything to do with this band of misfits and decides to leave — at least until he sees Kirsty. Then he is head-over-heels in love, and determines to figure out a way to stay and make this work.
The would-be thieves hire Danny to train them to be a kid's act so they can infiltrate billionaire Aurora Van Dyke's grandson's birthday party. All this so they can steal her multi-million dollar diamond. Danny has no idea about the heist until later.
They do have an elaborate scheme planned out, but nothing goes right, of course. However, they are seen on TV news coverage of the theft, and The Wannabes are born and unbelievably, they become a great hit.
This is a silly and at times hysterical comedy. It does have some moments, but even so, I found the movie a bit disturbing. Maybe that's because I am a mother and grandmother and it is made to appear in many ways more like a children's movie. I certainly would not want my children (when they were growing up) or my grandchildren to walk in on this movie, or to watch it.
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