One for the Money, the latest attempt to make Katherine Heigl a genuine movie star, had been scheduled to open as counterprogramming against the Kevin James vehicle The Zookeeper on July 8. Apparently feeling confident about what they have, the studio has decided to bump the film's release date up to June 3 and go up against an even bigger target: X-Men: First Class. The newly updated release schedule at Box Office Mojo has One for the Money, based on the Janet Evanovich novel about former lingeries buyer-turned-bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, opening the same weekend as the mammoth superhero franchise reboot, with just the indie drama Beginners also in there as possible competition.
Heigl hasn't had a good run at the box office in the last year, with both the romantic drama Life As We Know It and the romance caper Killer underperforming, but neither of them were outright flops either. WIth Heigl stepping out of the straight-up romance mode and playing a bounty hunter instead, it's possible to see her revamping her image as the fussy, stuck-up rom-com queen and bringing in some new fans. It helps that she'll be playing the character who starred in a series of best-selling books-- there's nothing that benefits a summer blockbuster more than a built-in audience.
Below is the novel's plot description, via Wikipedia.
Stephanie Plum is out of a job and there isn’t much work for an ex-lingerie buyer. After caving under pressure from her mother, Stephanie goes to her cousin, Vinnie, who is a bail bondman for some filing work. When arriving Vinnie’s assistant, Connie, tells her that the filing position has been filled. Connie tells her about apprehending people who skip out on their bonds, pulls a file out of her top drawer, and shows her Joseph Morelli’s file. Morelli is a vice cop who is wanted for murder one and has a history with Stephanie which includes two sexual encounters in high school and a hit-and-run when he didn’t call afterward. Connie suggests Morelli because Stephanie will get percentage of the bond that sings to the tune of $10,000. Stephanie has had to pawn off the majority of her possessions and her car gets repossessed, she thinks bringing in Morelli will fix all of her financial problems.Stephanie decides she wants to join up and blackmails Vinnie about an incident with a duck in order to let her try to get Morelli. With the help of some friends and the best bounty hunter in the business, Ranger, she slowly learns what it takes to be a badass bounty hunter. Along the way of trying to find Morelli Stephanie gains the unwanted attention of a heavy weight boxer that has a history of making women disappear, gains some hookers as friends, steals Morelli’s car, and enters into an agreement with Morelli himself. Then on top of all that she still has to deal with a pushy mother, a crazy grandmother, and a father who would rather not watch.It's one hell of a way to spend the first two weeks on the job.
