Foolproof is a 2003 Ryan Reynolds heist-comedy following a trio of young adults who make plans for perfect crimes as a hobby. A real criminal (David Suchet) steals their handbook, uses it to pull a heist, and then blackmails the trio into helping him with a second theft.
The film received a considerable amount of attention in 2020 when Reynolds himself used it as part of a promotional campaign for his cell phone service Mint Mobile, offering it for free (specifically, through a copy provided by Filmrise) for a period of time through a "new" free streaming service named Mint Mobile+... the joke being that the film was the only program you could stream there, no matter which thumbnail (and there were several, all with different designs, but with the same name) you chose. This was undoubtedly a troll move by Reynolds to mock the sudden onslaught of new streaming services around that time; shortly thereafter, it was taken down, citing they were "confused" as to what audiences wanted and taking the advantage to promote the cell service once more.
Tropes:
- Action Girl: Sam practices martial arts and uses them on a thug who threatens her during her first meeting with Leo. She climbs through an elevator shaft and narrowly avoids the elevator while scouting for the heist. She holds Leo at gunpoint, hinting he should let them quit his service. When he mockingly asks if Sam thinks he'd give her a loaded gun, she reveals that she pickpocketed the ammo clip from him.
- The Caper: Kevin, Sam and Rob are founding members of a group which pulls off theoretical heists. Leo, a gangster, blackmails them into pulling off a real multi-million dollar heist. Now it's up to them to get out alive.
- False False Alarm: The heroes know that they cannot break into a ultra-secure safe. Only one person outside the security company knows the combination and if they enter the wrong combination too many times the safe will go into lockdown. They use dry ice to trigger the safe's lockdown procedure and quickly leave the premises. By the time the security company arrives, the dry ice has melted and there is no sign of anyone tampering with the safe. Convinced that it was just a false alarm, the security company resets the safe's combination which is exactly what the heroes were hopping for. They use a hidden camera to record the new numbers and when they break into the building the next night, they open the safe by simply entering the combination.
- Faux Affably Evil: Leo acts like a soft-spoken Gentleman Thief who respects his blackmail victims and abhors violence. It's all an act, as he has a sadistic streak, doesn't believe in Honor Among Thieves, and is completely callous about the apparent death of a seemingly loyal accomplice.
- Fiery Cover Up: When Leo gets back to his place, he sees a fire started by the gang to destroy evidence against them.
- Intimate Telecommunications: An office drone the heroes spy on before the robbery calls a woman and tells her to remove her bra, sniff it and start masturbating, while he does the same. They nickname him "Captain Phone Sex."
- It Works Better with Bullets: Sam holds Leo at gunpoint, hinting he should let the heroes quit his service. When he mockingly asks if Sam thinks he'd give her a loaded gun, she reveals that she pickpocketed the ammo clip from him.
- Metafictional Title: 'Foolproof' is the name of a game Kevin, Sam and Rob invented in which they create working plans to infiltrate and burgle various targets.
- One-Word Title
- Percussive Pickpocket: Sam holds Leo at gunpoint, hinting he should let the heroes quit his service. When he mockingly asks if Sam thinks he'd give her a loaded gun, she reveals that she pickpocketed the ammo clip from him.
- The Perfect Crime: The whole idea behind the 'Foolproof' game is to make one of these. Then Leo forces the protagonists into doing it for real. It's not really a spoiler that they succeed, although it do takes some hoop jumping.
- Phantom Thief: Leo Gillette, a.k.a. "Leo the Touch", is a thief who specialises in pulling off high stakes jobs under seemingly impossible situations.
- Pushy Gun-Toting Villain: Leo is not above murder, threatening to murder or planning to murder to get what he wants. He also brings a handgun to the climactic heist and shoots Sam to make sure there are no loose ends. Unfortunately for him, he is so predictable about doing that that the protagonists made sure to take precautions.
- Red Baron: Phantom Thief Leo Gillette is known as "Leo the Touch."
- Staged Shooting: Leo and Rob force Kevin into an elevator and crash it. When they go to retrieve the bonds, Sam shoots Rob, then Leo shoots Sam. With the three friends dead, Leo leaves with the bonds. It is later revealed that the friends had switched Leo's gun, giving him one loaded with blanks. Sam and Kevin get up and are greeted by Rob.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Rob goes from the Plucky Comic Relief of the trio to an aloof, dedicated criminal under Leo's tutelage, sabotaging the others' attempt to get out from under Leo's thumb and then trying to kill them. Subverted with the reveal that he's still working with Kevin and Sam and is just trying to earn Leo's trust for the Batman Gambit to bring him down.
