When we first meet three main characters of Going in Style, it doesn’t take long for us to find out that things aren’t going well for all of them. Joe Harding, played by Michael Caine, is on the verge of losing his house. Willie Davis, played by Morgan Freeman, needs a kidney transplant. Only Albert Garner, played by Alan Arkin, seems to be doing well, even though he’s being pursued relentlessly by an amorous woman at the local grocery store, Annie Santori, played by Ann-Margret. When Joe initially comes up with a plan to rob a bank, he’s met with skepticism from his friends. But when they all learn that their pensions have evaporated in the face of corporate shenanigans, the three decide it’s time to turn to a life of crime. The trio get help figuring out how to carry out their crime, but that doesn’t stop them from making a mistake or two along the way. A trial run as shoplifters goes awry and winds up with Joe and Willie fleeing the scene in a motorized shopping cart, one of the film’s funniest moments. After they carry out their robbery plans, a determined detective tries his best to nab the elderly gents, but who wants to put any of these charming oldsters in jail?
Going in Style is more than a funny heist movie. It’s also a buddy flick with a touch of romance and a slightly more serious look at issues of aging, friendship, and an unequal economy. We’ve collected a list of more movies like it, from flicks featuring cantankerous old friends to movies where the bad guys aren’t really so bad.
Tower Heist
In Tower Heist, Ben Stiller plays Josh Kovaks, a building manager at a posh New York City apartment complex. The building’s most prominent resident, Arthur Shaw, played by Alan Alda, is a wealthy businessman whom Josh trusts to manage the building staff’s pension fund. Unfortunately, Arthur has been up to no good, and he loses all their money. When it looks like Arthur has hidden away some of his ill-gotten gains, Josh and his staff come up with a way to find it and steal it. Josh enlists the help of an old friend, “Slide” Davis, played by Eddie Murphy, to help with the caper. Everyone is surprised when they finally discover how Arthur has been hiding his money, but the clever team of one-time thieves aren’t about to be defeated easily. Arthur remains arrogantly sure of himself right up until he finds out the building staff knows more about his secrets that he bargained for. If you enjoyed rooting for the characters in Going in Style, you’ll find plenty to cheer for here.
Fun With Dick and Jane
Life is going great for Dick and Jane Harper, played by Jim Carey and Téa Leoni, right up until the point where it all goes terribly wrong. Innocently pulled into some messy corporate malfeasance under the guise of getting a promotion, Dick suddenly finds himself out of job, along with everyone else at his company. Dick and Jane try their hand at any jobs they can find, but it’s not enough to keep up with the bills. Desperate for money, the couple turn to a life of crime, and they get pretty good at it. Along the way, we find out that the real criminal is Dick’s boss Jack McCallister, played by Alec Baldwin, who seems to be about to get away with embezzling millions of dollars, but Dick and Jane have other ideas. Their biggest score comes with some risks, but the rewards outweigh the danger. Revenge may not be an acceptable motive for robbery in real life, but in Going in Style and Fun with Dick and Jane, it’s easier to get on the side of the robbers than their targets.
The Italian Job (2003)
The group of elite thieves in The Italian Job are international criminals who start off celebrating a successful heist, but things soon change when one of their own turns on them. What’s even worse is that the turncoat has killed a beloved member of the crew, their safe-cracking expert, John Bridger, played by Donald Sutherland. Charlie Croker, played by Mark Wahlberg, is the leader of the crooks who’ve been double-crossed. It’s up to him to convince John’s daughter, Stella, played by Charlize Theron, to step in as the group’s safe expert. The chance to get back at the man who killed her father finally convinces her to sign on. With Stella onboard, a plot to pull off a big caper and exact revenge is hatched. Edward Norton plays the villain, Steve Frazelli, and he does it so well that you can’t help but wish for his comeuppance. A thrilling car chase precedes the final scenes, when the bad blood between Charlie and Steve is finally settled. The robbery plot is a more serious undertaking here than it is for Joe, Willie, and Al, but both movies give us a seriously entertaining robbery.
Last Vegas
The four senior citizens in Last Vegas have been friends since childhood, and they’re not looking to rob any banks. They want to have a bachelor party in Las Vegas. Michael Douglas plays Billy Gerson, who has just decided he’s ready to marry his 32-year-old girlfriend. Billy convinces his old friends to travel to Sin City for a celebration worthy of their younger selves. Morgan Freeman, playing Archie Clayton, has to sneak away from an overprotective son. Kevin Kline, as Sam Harris, is living a contented retired life with his wife in Florida. Robert DeNiro, playing Paddy Connors, has some hard feelings he has to get over before the four men can carry out their plans for a bachelor party full of booze, women, and assorted hijinks. Not until Billy meets chanteuse Diana Boyle, played by Mary Steenburgen, does he seriously start to reconsider his marriage plans. If Going in Style left you wanting another buddy movie for grown-ups, Last Vegas not only also has Morgan Freeman, but a cast of stars that carry off this story of renewed friendship with panache.
Grumpy Old Men
In Grumpy Old Men, Walter Matthau and Jack Lemon play John Gustafson and Max Goldman, next-door neighbors who’ve been squabbling for years. When the beautiful and free-spirited Ariel, played by Ann-Margret, moves into the neighborhood, their childish pranks take on a new meaning. Who will get the love of the dazzling new neighbor? This laugh-out-loud comedy plays directly to Matthau and Lemon’s strengths as two of the best comedic actors of their time. Burgess Meredith plays Max’s dad, who winds up with some of the movie’s best lines, especially when he’s deservedly treating the two senior citizens like children. Despite all their ridiculous fighting, John and Max have a bond that goes back decades and we soon learn that even frenemies can do selfless things for each other. With Ann-Margret on hand and a story that puts an old friendships front and center, Grumpy Old Men shares plenty of cinematic DNA with Going in Style.
The Maiden Heist
In The Maiden Heist, Christopher Walken is Roger Barlow, an art museum security guard with a bit of an obsession about one particular painting. When Roger learns his favorite work of art is scheduled to be moved to Denmark, he’s initially despondent. Then he makes friends with guards from the museum’s other floors. Charles Peterson, played by Morgan Freeman, and George McLendon, played by William H. Macy, are also overly attached to some of the artwork they guard. George proposes a plan to steal the artwork they each covet and replace the pieces with replicas. Their carefully made plans hit a few snags as they carry out their scheme but eventually the three unlikely crooks hit their groove, even though it involves some unexpected nudity. Like Going in Style, The Maiden Heist brings together an unlikely group to commit a crime that seems perfectly justified.
Mad Money
Bridget Cardigan, played by Diane Keaton, enjoys a worry-free life for years, until she winds up facing an unpleasant reality after her husband, Don, played by Ted Danson, loses his job. With their financial position growing increasingly precarious, Bridget winds up taking a job as a janitor at a Federal Reserve Bank. She takes note of the worn-out money that’s slated for destruction and makes a plan to steal it. Bridget talks two of her co-workers into helping her, Nina Brewster, played by Queen Latifah, and Jackie Truman, played by Katie Holmes. The three women come up with a simple and successful plan to steal the money. The temptation to do it again is too much to resist, but their lucrative scheme has a few weak points. It seems like the likable thieves are going to get caught, but Bridget’s plans don’t include going to jail. Like the trio of unlikely criminals in Going in Style, Bridget, Nina, and Jackie have a good reason they’ve turned to crime. And they’re all so personable that we hope they get away with it.
Now You See Me
In Now You See Me, four magicians are behind an audacious plot to steal from the corrupt rich and give to the deserving poor. Jesse Eisenberg plays the group’s leader, J. Daniel Atlas, Woody Harrelson is psychic Merrit McKinney, Isla Fisher plays escape expert Henley Reeves, and Dave Franco is sleight-of-hand expert Jack Wilder. At a show in Las Vegas, they give the impression they’ve just done a long-distance, magic-enabled bank robbery in Paris, an impression bolstered when they shower their audience with money that seems to be from the robbery. It’s only the beginning of the group’s plans for wealth redistribution, which include stealing from an unscrupulous insurance company owner, Arthur Tessler, played by Michael Caine. With Morgan Freeman as Thaddeus Bradley, a former magician who is now a debunker of magic and Mark Ruffalo as FBI agent Dylan Rhodes, Now You See Me takes viewers on a wild ride through the twists and turns of a plot that ends with a surprising revelation. This group is far more polished than the group of would-be criminals in Going in Style but they’re just as dedicated to the idea of righting financial wrongs.
The Bank Job (2008)
The British spy group MI5 is interested in a safety deposit box in this highly fictionalized version of an actual London robbery. Saffron Burrows plays Martine Love, a model who is caught smuggling drugs into the country. To get out of jail time, she strikes a deal to retrieve risque photos of Princess Margaret out of a safety deposit box at a bank. She recruits Terry Leather, played by Jason Statham, who agrees to get a crew together to rob the bank in question. He doesn’t know about the photos, only that a big score awaits. Terry assembles a group of misfits who manage to tunnel into the bank and go through the safety deposit boxes. When he finds the pictures, Terry starts to get suspicious but thinks the pictures will offer him ammunition to bargain with the authorities. As it turns out, it’s not the authorities he and his team need to be concerned about. The shady underworld figures who’ve been storing their ill-gotten gains in the safety deposit boxes are not amused. For fans of Going in Style, The Bank Job hits many of the same notes with a misfit team of crooks and a robbery that’s about more than the money.
Horrible Bosses
Everyone has had a bad boss, but the bosses in Horrible Bosses are so terrible that they drive their overworked, abused employees to decide murder is their best recourse. Jason Bateman plays Nick Hendricks, who’s being tormented by a sadistic financial executive, Dave Harken, played by Kevin Spacey. Dale Arbus, played by Charlie Day, works for a dentist, Julia Harris, played by Jennifer Aniston, who sexually harasses him relentlessly. Dedicated employee Kurt Buckman, played by Jason Sudeikis, was an integral part of a family-owned business until the owner passed away and left his drug-addicted son, Bobby Pellit, played by Colin Farrell, in charge of things. The clueless trio enlist the help of a “murder consultant,” played by Jamie Fox. Nothing goes as planned, but eventually the three find creative ways to deal with their horrible bosses. Like Going in Style, Horrible Bosses is about basically good people being turned into criminals somewhat against their will, with plenty of comedic missteps along the way.
Ocean’s 11 (2001)
This remake of 1960 Rat Pack classic has become one of the most well-known heist movies out there. Danny Ocean, played by George Clooney, wastes no time cooking up a robbery after he’s released from jail. As soon as he meets up with his friend Rusty Ryan, played by Brad Pitt, the two pull a crew together to rob a vault holding funds from three Las Vegas casinos. As it turns out, there’s more to Danny’s plans than just stealing a pile of loot. His ex-wife Tess, played by Julia Roberts, is in a relationship with the ruthless casino owner, played by Andy Garcia, who owns the vault in question. The all-star cast shines throughout this sleek film from director Steven Soderbergh, but perhaps none more so than the late Carl Reiner as Saul Bloom, an old crook that Danny and Rusty convince to come out of retirement for the robbery. With likable criminals, a good dose of comedy, and a fun plot that takes a few twists and turns, Ocean’s 11 makes a nice double feature with Going in Style.
Masterminds (2016)
Zach Galifianakis plays clueless Loomis armored car driver David Ghantt in this comedy based on an actual robbery. David’s not the one who comes up with the idea to rob Loomis, but he’s the one who gets talked into committing the crime. Another Loomis employee, Kelly Campbell, played by Kristen Wiig, and her friend Steve Chambers, played by Owen Wilson, are the ones who come up with the idea to rob Loomis. Since David likes Kelly, the two use that to convince him to commit the actual robbery. The bumbling David carries out the crime, but leaves behind a key surveillance tape. When he flees to Mexico, Steve is the one who winds up with the loot. David becomes the prime suspect in the FBI’s investigation, and Steve and Kelly appear to be free and clear. Unable to extract any of the cash from Steve, David tries to put the pressure on with threats to call Interpol. In return, Steve’s friends kidnap Kelly. David comes to her rescue, and both are caught in mid-escape but David has one last trick up his sleeve. Masterminds is full of the silly comedy people associate with Galifianakis, so there are plenty of laughs. Like Going in Style, this isn’t a serious crime movie but it is a funny one.
Three Fugitives
In Three Fugitives, we first meet both main characters at a bank robbery that’s not going smoothly. Nick Nolte plays Daniel Lucas, a convicted armed robber who just got out of prison and who is at the bank for a legitimate reason: to open an account. He winds up being taken hostage by a desperate but incompetent bank robber, Ned Perry, played by Martin Short. Ned needs money for his daughter’s medical bills and has been driven to extreme measures to get it. Daniel is in the wrong place at the wrong time, but his criminal expertise turns out to be essential in keeping the hapless Ned from getting caught. At first, the police are convinced the two men are working together. None of them believe Daniel could be innocent, so he’s forced into fugitive status along with Ned. The two form an unlikely alliance, one that is reinforced when Daniel becomes attached to Ned’s young daughter. The film is full of great physical comedy, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. Just as in Going in Style, our criminals have a good reason why they’re breaking the law, leaving the audience hoping they don’t get caught.
The Old Man and the Gun
Inspired by a true story, The Old Man and the Gun tells the story of Forrest Tucker, a man who’s been a bank robber for decades. The elderly Forrest, played by Robert Redford, has just held up another bank and is driving away when he spots a woman on the side of the road with a broken-down vehicle. Stopping to offer her assistance and give himself cover from the police, Forrest is quickly attracted to Jewel, played by Sissy Spacek. Forrest and Jewel are soon spending more time together, but it’s only a short respite for Forrest, who continues to rob banks with his gentlemanly style. Inevitably, the police catch up to Forrest. Although he’s proficient at escaping from custody, Jewel convinces him to serve his sentence this time. Once he’s out, however, the lure of robbing banks is a powerful temptation to overcome. While Forrest is an experienced criminal in contrast to the trio in Going in Style, in both cases our anti-heroes may be old on the outside, but they’re still young on the inside.
Logan Lucky
Jimmy Logan, played by Channing Tatum, is having a string of bad luck in the beginning of Logan Lucky. He’s been fired from his job at a motor speedway and his ex-wife is planning to move to another state with their daughter. Jimmy has come up with an idea on how to pull off a robbery at the speedway, but he needs accomplices to make it happen. He turns to his bartender brother Clyde, played by Adam Driver, a veteran who lost part of an arm in Iraq and their sister Mellie, played by Riley Keough. Next, they approach safe-cracker Joe Bang, played by Daniel Craig. He’s inconveniently incarcerated, necessitating a scheme to get him out of jail to help with the heist. This group of country bumpkins works out a plan but things don’t go exactly the way they envisioned. Steven Soderbergh directed this comedic crime movie, a light-hearted film that makes crime look pretty funny. Like Going in Style, the action is more about getting laughs than getting away.