Houdini's Magic Movie Ticket

Starring Burt Reynolds and Casey Siemaszko as a veteran safecracker and his new student. It looks like the movie is going to be an '80s money-centric adventure film, where Reynolds and CS pull off some amazing heist, find a couple of nice ladies, and retire to a beach somewhere.

Instead, CS gets caught, takes the blame for all the jobs Burt's ever done, becomes a celebrity in jail, and has Burt use his stolen money to pay fellow prisoners to protect him.

It was only after watching the film and being disappointed by the ending (where CS is still in jail) that I guessed they were going for a dual meaning with the title. "Breaking In" probably not only refers to stealing, but also to CS becoming friends with Reynolds, who at one point said he didn't need anyone.

If the movie was going for a "I have no friends / I'll be your friend" dynamic, it could've fooled me. I just thought the vet was going to teach the new guy enough so they'd both get rich and could retire. But there was no resolution in that regard, so I felt the film was a disappointment.

However, if you can tolerate limbo endings, you might enjoy the movie. I liked the prospect of instant riches. Sure, they were going about it in an immoral way, but there's an adventure element with safecracking that seemed somewhat appealing. And what I really wanted to see was them be able to enjoy the money with no one getting hurt. So my expecting that made the film exciting for me. I kept thinking, "Soon they'll hit the jackpot!"

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