We love a good book. Sometimes we’ll even spend an extra $10 to get it in hardcover. That’s too pricey for the guys in “American Animals,” who embark on an epic literary heist. Deco’s beastly animal Chris Van Vliet is here with a look.
In college, we all did some pretty stupid stuff — like the time I tried to outrun a campus police car. In “American Animals,” the stupid thing they’re trying to do will either make them really rich, or land them in jail.
Ann Dowd (as Betty Jean Gooch): “This library is home to the most valuable book in the United States.”
That book is what this movie is all about it — and when they say valuable, they mean valuable.
Evan Peters (as Warren Lipka): “Twelve million dollars. You really need to see how easy this is going to be.”
Barry Keoghan (as Spencer Reinhard): “Oh, you know this from all of your previous heists?”
That’s right. These four friends are planning to steal the book from the library at Transylvania University in Kentucky.
And here’s the crazy part: All of this actually happened back in 2004.
Evan Peters: “It’s not based on a true story, it is a true story, and you hear it right from their mouths.”
The movie brilliantly cuts between the real guys who pulled off the heist and the actors who play them — actors like Evan Peters and Miami native Blake Jenner.
Blake Jenner: “You’re kind of entering — as an audience member, you’re like on the same wavelength as these guys. As you’re going, you kind of get the same heart rate as you’re watching it.”
Blake Jenner (as Chas Allen): “Can I just say how dumb this entire thing is?”
Barry Keoghan (as Spencer Reinhard): “How do you know no one’s going to get hurt?”
Stealing the book wasn’t just about the money, although $12 million is a good chunk of change.
Evan Peters: “I think that they wanted to do something special, I think that they wanted to do something different, and they kind of wanted to do it in an easy, quick way and not really work for it.”
So, if you could do it and get away with it, would you?
Evan Peters: “If I could do it without anybody getting hurt, yeah, I would try to do that, too. That sounds great. I’d love to retire on a catamaran.”
Blake Jenner: “Like Tim Robbins at the end of ‘Shawshank Redemption.'”
Evan Peters (as Warren Lipka): “I don’t want you waking up wondering what you could have been.”
So, did they get away with it? I don’t want to be the guy who gives it away. You’ll either have to see the movie or, since it’s based on a true story, I guess you could just Google it.
“American Animals” breaks into theaters on Friday.
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