Caught in ‘Flypaper’
Ashley Jo Will

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival is occurring in Utah from Jan. 19-29, just around the corner. Last year around this time I went to the screening of “Flypaper” at Sundance and I recently watched it again since it was released on video on Nov. 15, 2011. At first glance, “Flypaper” appears to be just another bank heist movie. As the audience watches the film, it is apparent “Flypaper” is more like a mystery-solving story than a tale about robbing a bank.

A man named Tripp walks up to a pretty bank teller named Kaitlin and makes a strange request for variations of coins such as 557 dimes. Tripp insists he is not joking and Kaitlin notes his list only includes prime numbers. This is the first indication that Tripp is an obsessive person. In addition to being obsessive, Tripp takes in everything he sees. Immediately he notes Kaitlin is engaged by noting her collection of wedding gifts behind her and the ring on her finger. He also judges by looking at Kaitlin’s pictures that she loves adventure and is not deeply in love with her fiance.

Tripp is about to leave to pick up his medication when he notices a couple of men walk in who are clearly armed and ready to rob the bank. Kaitlin is then suddenly surprised when Tripp flies over the counter to protect her. Another group of bank robbers appear and all announce: “This is a robbery.” Both groups are surprised to see each other and begin to bicker over whose job it is to rob this particular bank. While both groups are armed, they are vastly different from one another. One is reminiscent of a SWAT team. Their faces are hidden and they appear to be heavily coordinated. The other group is a two-man team who call themselves Peanut Butter and Jelly. They appear to be lacking in much intelligence and act as if this is their first time robbing a bank although they claim to have performed this job before.

While both teams are fighting amongst themselves, a bystander is shot directly in the chest. He had been standing in the bank with his hands raised, attempting to preserve his life. It is unknown who shot the innocent man or the identity of the victim. Tripp steps out behind the counter amid the chaos and suggests both teams can rob the same bank by Peanut Butter and Jelly going after the ATMs and the other group going after the vaults. They agree to Tripp’s suggestion and take Tripp and the other hostages to a designated area. Tripp is not afraid at all and demonstrates his fearlessness by ordering the criminals to do what he says and talking to them as if they will easily give him information.

Without his medication, Tripp is unable to control his obsessive and impulsive tendencies. Tripp attempts to figure out who fired the gun that caused the first casualty in this bank robbery. He believes that the answer to that question will reveal more about the situation the hostages are in such as why there are multiple bank robberies occurring simultaneously. One by one, fatalities occur without an indication who is murdering them. Tripp diligently searches for clues to solve the mystery within the locked-down bank. There is the possibility of a snitch among the hostages as well. It is fun to play along with Tripp like Sherlock Holmes and attempt to guess who, among the bank robbers and hostages, is the mastermind controlling nearly everything in “Flypaper.”

“Flypaper” is full of entertainment and never becomes too serious. Peanut Butter and Jelly provide much comic relief with their hillbilly behavior and provide a stark contrast to the criminals that they admire and label “major league” who are robbing the same bank. The SWAT team robbers and hostages also provide many jokes in the film. Tripp’s snarky attitude and tendency to speak without thinking is the cause of many memorable lines in the film, such as telling Kaitlin, “You’re an independent woman” without knowing anything about her besides what his photographic memory has processed. “Flypaper” is a fun film that is easy to be caught into, like multiple criminals are caught into the bank in the movie. As I said earlier, it is fun to try to guess the solution to the story’s mystery. The second time it loses its luster since the audience already knows who the perpetrator is but fortunately it still retains all the laughter that it produced the first time, making it possible to still be enjoyable for multiple viewings.