Eenie Meanie Review: Samara Weaving Helps A Funny, Moody Crime Caper Get Away Clean

There is a moral tension at the heart of movies about criminals that often goes unspoken. Namely, the idea that crime is generally not something to aspire to or be proud of. This morality is essentially conventional wisdom and doesn't require being stated outright, certainly not after the days of the Hays Code imposing some sort of moral message on numerous crime movies. Most crime films (and, eventually, TV shows) made after the collapse of the production code took one of several approaches, such as presenting criminals in the form of a grounded character study (with depiction not necessarily equalling endorsement), or as lovable underdogs who make characters (or institutions) that are either morally just as bad or worse than they are their targets. This is all in service of the audience vicariously enjoying themselves, getting a little thrill for a couple hours about what it might be like to break the rules.

As such, there aren't too many crime movies that try to blend vicarious thrills with sober morality, for fear of possibly deflating the former or glibly treating the latter. "Eenie Meanie," a new crime caper movie, is that rare film which attempts to encapsulate both qualities. Produced by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick ("The Guys who wrote Deadpool," as one of the posters for the film excitedly mentions), the ads and trailers for the movie make it appear like the type of raucous, silly, action-packed movie that a film from the makers of "Zombieland" would be. Yet writer/director Shawn Simmons has made a far more nuanced and multi-faceted film than it initially seems.

Simmons, who's been a writer for television for the past 20 years and has most recently worked on the "John Wick" spin off "The Continental" and Amazon Prime's "Wayne" (which Reese and Wernick were writers on), approaches his first feature film with a sensibility that feels akin to the movies of Jim McBride or John McNaughton. As in those director's movies like "The Big Easy" or "Normal Life," "Eenie Meanie" is a blend of both gritty heist movie thrills and downbeat character drama. It's not an easy mix, and the film doesn't always pull it off gracefully. Yet thanks to Simmons' ambition, some incredible stunt work, and especially the lead performance by Samara Weaving, "Eenie Meanie" ends up as a satisfyingly well-rounded experience.

While "Eenie Meanie" isn't blazing any new trails in terms of its plot or character, the way that Simmons arranges and presents these elements is unique enough that it's difficult to tell just where the movie is going until you're deep into it. Unlike other crime films, however, "Eenie Meanie" isn't playing around with chronology or point of view, so while it takes a minute to come into focus, it's also very straightforward. After an opening flashback in which a 14 year old Edie (Elle Graham) is pressured into acting as a getaway driver for her deadbeat, small-time crook father (Steve Zahn), the film jumps to the present day 15 years later, where a now-adult Edie (Weaving) has gone straight. She's left behind her criminal past and is going to community college and working as a bank teller in her home city of Cleveland, OH.

There's barely any action in this first act of the film, something which Simmons is all too eager to draw our attention to, cutting the scene abruptly when it seems like we're about to speed away from the cops with young Edie or witness adult Edie take down some thugs who rob her bank. Simmons is both teasing our desire to get some action as well as treating its arrival like an ominous inevitability, the same way that the criminal life is increasingly breathing down Edie's neck. Once Edie discovers that she's several months pregnant, she tracks down her ex, John (Karl Glusman), to tell him the news, only to discover that he's gotten himself into yet another life-or-death mess, having crossed Edie's old boss, the crime kingpin Nico (Andy Garcia). In order to clear John's debt to Nico, the crime lord taps Edie to pull off a heist at a Toledo casino, wherein she'll steal a poker tournament's prize Dodge Charger with $3 million in cash in the trunk. Along the way, Edie will have to keep John from becoming a liability to the job, as well as try and deal with their unresolved, star-crossed relationship.

"Eenie Meanie" is an action movie in a much more traditional sense than what audiences have gotten used to in a post-"John Wick" landscape. It's not wall-to-wall action by any means, as Simmons carefully picks the moments when the film's setpieces arrive. Yet when the film does kick into high gear, it hits hard, thanks in large part to the way that Simmons approaches the action from a down-to-Earth point of view. Again, unlike recent action movies like "Ballerina," "Novocaine" or "A Working Man," "Eenie Meanie" isn't looking to go too over the top. Instead, Simmons and his stunt coordinators (Keith Campbell, Nicolas Bosc, Paul Jennings and Michael B. Johnson) give the film some gritty authenticity in its fist fights and especially its car chases. The vibe isn't the histrionics of "Fast X" or "Bad Boys II" but rather that of "Vanishing Point," "Dirty Mary Crazy Larry," and "Death Proof."

For this reason, Simmons gets a ton of mileage out of what might otherwise be an appetizer in a wilder action flick. A car flipping end over end might be a mere garnish for the likes of Michael Bay, but in "Eenie Meanie" its a spectacle worth the price of admission. This approach to the action is indicative of the entire film operating on an old-school level. To be clear, "Eenie Meanie" (despite some of its grindhouse-style marketing) is not a Tarantino-esque homage, but rather an honest attempt at making a modern-day ground-level crime film. For action junkies like myself, this film is a case of quality over quantity.

One of the highlights of "Eenie Meanie" is its ensemble cast, as it's very clear early on that they came to play. Andy Garcia is, of course, a welcome presence as always, bringing gravitas to his mobster while making him believably quirky. HIs consigliere, George (Mike O'Malley), is a character that allows the two actors to become a double act, which leads to some great humor and drama. It's that mixture which Simmons is so obviously after, and nowhere is it seen better than in Glusman's performance as John. Glusman has a tricky needle to thread with this character, making him all at once comic relief, romantic lead, and wild card. It's a combination that would easily crush lesser actors, and Glusman pulls it off with aplomb.

As great as the cast is, they can't always allow "Eenie Meanie" to fire on all cylinders at all times. Simmons' Elmore Leonard-lite tone and approach demands that irreverence and sincerity simultaneously share the stage, and while someone like Tarantino or Paul Thomas Anderson can find that balance, it eludes the first-time filmmaker occasionally. There's also an extra bit of twisting that involves the character of Perm (Marshawn Lynch) which does make the centerpiece heist sequence extra involving, yet introduces one wild card too many to keep the emotional grounding that Simmons has built. Again, the film does end up feeling structurally sound, but there are some potholes in the road on the way there.

The star of "Eenie Meanie" and the reason to see it — other than those car crashes and flips, that is — is Weaving, and she absolutely is the most valuable player in the film. Thus far, Weaving's film career has been primarily as supporting or lead characters in horror movies, with the actress demonstrating a sense of indigence, fear, and resilience as the biggest assets in her toolkit. All of those aspects come into play in her performance as Edie here, yet she also slyly shifts her Final Girl chutzpah into the mode of action lead beautifully. Weaving's equally loaded vulnerability and inner fortitude carries the film, and helps careen it over its rougher spots. Quite simply, the movie might not work at all without her.

Ultimately, the biggest negative element about "Eenie Meanie" is something that's not its fault, which is that it is yet another original movie for adults that's being dumped onto a streaming service. The film's unique blending of tones and throwback aesthetics are things that make it really stand out in a theatrical setting, and could easily allow it to fade into the background in the midst of so many other offerings on streaming. Even the score by Bobby Krlic (aka The Haxan Cloak), which sounds mostly like a typical Hollywood score until you listen closer and start to pick out the odd metal touches to it, could turn into some form of white noise for audiences who merely put the movie on in the background. A more robust theatrical slate of yesteryear used to allow emerging filmmakers the room to stretch and play around with genre in the way that "Eenie Meanie" does. I can only hope that the film makes enough of an impact to let Simmons make some more intriguing experiments (and let Weaving lead some more action films) instead of just leaving a small cloud of dust behind.

/Film Rating: 7 out of 10

"Eenie Meanie" is streaming on Hulu on August 22, 2025.