Eenie Meanie

Vampire Owl: This sounds like a nice name which we can use for a new vampire.

Vampire Bat: How can a vampire be called by such a name in our realm?

Vampire Owl: It is still better than being called Vampire Owl I and Vampire Owl II.

Vampire Bat: So, there is a second vampire who is an owl?

Vampire Owl: We have to be ready for all possibilities in a world of chaos.

Vampire Bat: A world of chaos can only use a chaotic name.

Vampire Owl: That would scare legends like Dr. Frankenstein away.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein already have a scary name for himself.

Vampire Owl: Frankenstein is a name given to legends these days.

Vampire Bat: Uncle Dracula has been fed up with that name for some time due to those illegal and ridiculous experiments involving lightning, which have caused power shortage in the castle.

[Gets a gobi masala dosa and three cups of Ooty tea].

What is the movie about? :: Edie Meaney (Samara Weaving) had a troubled past which included being pulled over by police while driving her drunk parents who had drugs in their possession, and had ended up crashing the car. Then, as she was aged fourteen, with her mother dead and father paralyzed after the accident which was meant to save them from being arrested, had to go through a series of abusive foster homes, and was almost sold to sexual slavery, but was saved by John (Karl Glusman), a young criminal with whom she had also fallen in love, and stayed together for about fifteen years. Edie and John had carried out multiple robberies for the ruthless mob boss Nico (Andy Garcia), who had nicknamed her “Eenie Meanie”. She was known for her driving skills which had helped them a lot during the most complicated situations, something which had made her the favourite driver of the group, and her getaways have been iconic. Even her rival driver Perm (Marshawn Lynch) had a high opinion about her.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: In the present, Edie has left her life as a getaway driver a long way behind, and had finally found the emotional courage to break up with John. As she works at a bank to support herself in going to college and get a degree, she becomes stuck at the bank counter during a robbery and is hit on the head to be knocked out. At the hospital, she finds out that she is pregnant with the child of John. Even though there are many advice for her to mind her own business, Edie goes and visits John, who is being interrogated by Nico’s men, and after surprising them, reluctantly uses her driving skills to save him. John had kidnapped Nico’s card counter man Leo (Randall Park) for a certain activity, and as he takes them out of the hiding place, ends up killing him much to the dismay of Edie. Once again pulled into the criminal world, this time being pregnant, she gets a call of Nico and him as well as his right-hand man George (Mike O’Malley) provides her with an offer.

And what more is to happen here as one man would dictate the terms? :: This offer would involve stealing a car containing three million dollars in cash, which is to serve as the prize for an upcoming poker tournament at a casino in the state. Only this could cover their losses due to the death of the man and this would be the one thing that could keep John alive at least for now. After getting a new car with the amount provided by Nico, they go and see Chaperone (Jermaine Fowler) as instructed, but he finds John to be liability who slows down both Edie and the mission, but she remains adamant that he is an integral part of the mission, and it is not just because he had helped him a lot in the past when she had no hope. She asserts that he also has the same kind of skills within him, and has helped a lot with the earlier missions, and that leaves the doubts behind for the time being for them. With some help from casino staff, the Dodge Charger which is to be given as the prize with three million inside is replaced with an identical model which is ready to drive as soon as the cash is loaded into it. But can Edie manage to take it out when everyone’s watching?

The defence of Eenie Meanie :: The movie rest on the shoulders of Samara Weaving, without doubt – her style, dialogues, charisma, dry humour and screen presence, all rises all the way above the whole movie, and rarely do we such a work which feels better than the film itself, and as we remember her performance in Ready or Not, we do feel here that she has always been ready, and eternally ready to shine in action movies. Whenever the movie gets weaker due to its lack of anything special, she becomes the one special ingredient. Elle Graham who plays her younger version had also made an early impact. Then, it can be seen that the heist and getaway driving sequences are nicely shot. During these moments, the high-speed thrills look polished and fast-paced. The humour works at times, and we see some elevation here and there. The second half shows a clear upgrade from the dumb beginning moments, and all the memorable moments are right there. Andy Garcia remains solid as the crime boss. Then the movie has its good looks.

The claws of flaw :: The movie feels elongated with not that much of a content to stretch it to the final run-time which it has achieved. Karl Glusman is playing a strange man who is good for nothing, and the main character for a past, remains attached to the person, and one cannot stop being bothered about it – there are not many things absurd than this which seems to cause everything that happens in the movie. One can only wonder if such a step will be taken by a smart modern woman in any case, as there is always limit to everything. The movie also seems to try too many things, some of them unnecessary – there is a pregnancy storyline, family estrangement and a number of unnecessary characters, which leaves the main heist plot feeling rushed and most of the things seem to wait till the end, even when there were so many opportunities to keep planning and talk about the same in between. There was much to be done to add right towards the action and even humour, and the emotional side just goes not useful at all. Some of the scenes including the first meeting of the two former lovers stay ridiculous.

How it finishes :: The movie maintains the brainless fun mode pretty well, but the slow progress does not help the same too much. The tale also does not seem to add anything too interesting in its narrative, and holds back with its action which arrives too late. The final moments do come up with what it was required to do, but it feels rushed, after all those talks in between. There is some poetic justice delivered right there. Then there is Samara Weaving who makes this feel so much better, and as she shoulders this, the quality itself feels very much improved. There is always hope when she is around, and we see the level of the movie elevated, and this much she achieves with that strange character that takes decisions against her own ideas and plans. The ending stays closer to reality, and most of it was something we waited to see happen. There are many thoughts about how this one could be improved. We would expect a more fast-paced full action thriller with a nicely planned heist, but that much is not reached. This one serves as an entertainer in Jio Hotstar which we can watch for time-pass.

Release date: 22 August 2025
Running time: 106 minutes
Directed by: Shawn Simmons
Starring: Samara Weaving, Karl Glusman, Jermaine Fowler, Marshawn Lynch, Steve Zahn, Andy Garcia, Randall Park, Mike O’Malley