Foolproof [fool-proof]

Foolproof

[fool-proof]

Foolproof is a 2003 Canadian heist film written and directed by William Phillips and starring Ryan Reynolds, David Suchet, Kristin Booth, Joris Jarsky, and James Allodi. It was the first attempt by a Canadian studio to create a heist movie, in the same vein as Ocean's Eleven. The film was a major financial failure and received mostly mediocre reviews.

The movie was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and produced by Alliance Atlantis Communications and Ego Film Arts and released theatrically on October 3, 2003, by Odeon Films in Canada and Momentum Pictures of the United Kingdom.

In Canada, it was released in 204 theatres, more than any other movie in the past. Under Telefilm Canada rules stating the movie producers must have a good script and firm distribution deals to get a grant of more than C$1,000,000, Telefilm granted Foolproof C$3,400,000. The entire budget was C$7,800,000.

Tagline: This fall suspense gets intense!

Plot

The movie centres around a group of friends: Kevin (played by Reynolds), Sam (Booth) and Rob (Jarsky). They play a game, known as "Foolproof", in which they create working plans to infiltrate and burgle various targets. They do not actually execute these heists, preferring to simply simulate them.

All is fine until a famous criminal, Leo Gillete (Suchet), steals the trio's plans to burglarize a jewelry company and accomplishes the heist. He then blackmails the group into designing and executing a plan to steal $20 million in bonds from a bank. Tension escalates within the group as Rob befriends Leo, while Kevin and Sam attempt to hinder his plans. During the heist, Rob and Leo murder Kevin and Sam, before escaping with the bonds. It turns out that Rob faked Kevin and Sam's deaths and planted evidence in Leo's restaurant, causing him to be arrested. The movie ends with Kevin, Sam and Rob returning the bonds and escaping with the blackmail material.

Reception

The movie was a terrific financial failure. Despite its C$7,800,000 budget, the movie grossed in Canada slightly less than C$460,000 and grossed virtually nothing in the US, where it was released direct-to-video.