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A certain subset of the population might view Zach Galifianakis in a ridiculous hairdo as the height of comedy.
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You’ll find much merriment in the lightweight and silly comedy “Masterminds,” which is astonishingly based on the true story of one of the largest cash robberies in the United States.
Also, Galifianakis sports a variety of insane wigs and ‘dos — from a long blond number and a kinky black perm to his own Prince Valiant bob, styled for the heavens.
“Masterminds” is a small, strange film — definitely not a movie that enters the upper-echelons of director Jared Hess’ oeuvre, which includes the wacky comedy classics “Napoleon Dynamite” and “ Nacho Libre.”
Nor is it the best work of its stars.
Nonetheless, the marriage of the insane 1997 true-crime story and the murderer’s row of comic performers results in copious laughter.
Galifianakis plays aw-shucks naif David Ghantt, an employee of armored-truck company Loomis Fargo, trapped in a loveless engagement with Jandice (an unblinking Kate McKinnon) and carrying a torch for a co-worker, sassy Kelly (Kristen Wiig). Kelly and her petty-thief buddy Stephen (Owen Wilson) hatch a plan to rob the company vault, and they ensnare lovelorn David into their plot as their inside man.
Despite a complete lack of skill or common sense, David pulls off the robbery, but he soon finds himself stranded on the lam in Mexico, while Stephen and his family are living high on the hog back in North Carolina, freely spending the millions that David stole for them.
Hess’ approach is to give his comedic performers time, space and permission to push the boundaries of their bizarre tendencies. From Jack Black’s riffs in “Nacho Libre” to the deadpan ad libs of Jemaine Clement in “Don Verdean,” Hess creates spaces for comic weirdness to percolate. That’s a perfect showcase for a comedian such as Galifianakis, who can elicit bellylaughs from a well-deployed glance or intonation from one of his specifically rendered characters.
“Masterminds” offers plenty of opportunities for hilarious moments from the incredibly funny cast, which also includes two other “Saturday Night Live” performers: Leslie Jones and Jason Sudeikis.
The cast is one on which the cameras can simply be turned to watch the madness unfold — whether we see Wiig crooning a wordless love ballad into a walkie-talkie, an inspired take on an engagement photo shoot featuring David and Jandice, or simply Galifianakis on roller blades.
But there’s something about the slower, dry, Hessian tone working in concert with the high-octane heist story that doesn’t quite jibe.
The film is the first that Hess has directed that he hasn’t written (the script is by Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer and Emily Spivey), but the culprit might extend more from the large number of characters, plot twists and broad story moments that are action-based. Perhaps these factors conspire to curb the opportunities to really let these weirdos loose.
The film devolves into a schlocky 1990s unlikely-hero-saves-the-day routine, and it fails to delve into deeper themes about crime and punishment and passion.
It also leaves viewers with the unshakable feeling that at times, the cast and filmmakers might be laughing at their small-town subjects, not with them.
Still, “Masterminds” has its riotously funny moments, thanks to the fearless, uninhibited actors and a director who lets them play.
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