Review: ‘Ambulance’ (2022), starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Eiza González

April 6, 2022

by Carla Hay

Jake Gyllenhaal and Eiza González in “Ambulance” (Photo by Andrew Cooper/Universal Pictures)

“Ambulance” (2022)

Directed by Michael Bay

Culture Representation: Taking place in Los Angeles, the action film “Ambulance” features a cast of predominantly white characters (with some African Americans, Latinos and Asians) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A longtime bank robber, who’s white, convinces his adopted black brother to rob a bank with him, and when things go wrong, they hijack an ambulance to make their getaway. 

Culture Audience: “Ambulance” will appeal primarily to people who like mindless action movies that repeat bigoted stereotypes of women and people who aren’t white.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jake Gyllenhaal in “Ambulance” (Photo by Andrew Cooper/Universal Pictures)

“Ambulance” is racist and sexist garbage that tries to cover up how stupid it is with car chases and gun shootouts. In this idiotic schlockfest, almost all black and Latino men are criminals, and women are a small minority. This movie hates black men so much, it makes the only black man in a group of bank robbers to be the one to commit the most violent and dumbest crimes. And by the end of the movie, there’s no doubt who is going to prison and who is not going to prison for the most serious crimes.

Directed by Michael Bay (who has a long history of making terrible movies) and written by Chris Fedak (in his feature-film screenwriting debut), “Ambulance” is a remake of writer/director Lars Andreas Pedersen’s 2005 Danish film “Ambulancen.” Both movies are essentially about bank robbers who make their getaway by hijacking an ambulance. The American version of “Ambulance” takes place in Los Angeles, where nearly half the population is Latino in real life. But in this horrible movie, the Latino men are criminals, and the sole Latina is a cold-hearted, difficult person who needs to be redeemed.

“Ambulance” opens with a scene that’s a very tired stereotype that’s been in too many other movies: an African American family is struggling financially. In this case, it’s the family of William “Will” Sharp (played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a military war veteran who’s on the phone while he’s trying to get insurance coverage for his wife’s “experimental surgery” that his insurance won’t cover. Will and his wife Amy Sharp (played by Moses Ingram) have an infant son. Amy has cancer, although what type of cancer is never detailed in the movie. The character of Amy Sharp literally does nothing in this movie but hold a baby, look worried, and be a “stand by your man” woman, no matter how many violent crimes her husband commits.

Will is frustrated because the people he’s been dealing with at his insurance company are dismissive and downright rude. During this phone call, the insurance company employee hangs up on him when he expresses his irritation at being stonewalled. And you know what that means in a racist movie where an African American is financially desperate: The African American is going to commit a serious crime to get money.

Will has a brother named Daniel “Danny” Sharp (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), whom Amy dislikes and distrusts immensely. Amy warns Will not to contact Danny. And it’s precisely at this point in the movie that you know Will is going to contact Danny. Before Will leaves the house, he lies to Amy by saying that the insurance for her surgery was approved, and he’s going to work at a new job that he’s started. That job probably doesn’t exist.

Instead, Will goes straight to Danny, who is in a money laundering business of supervising a warehouse where wealthy people store their luxury cars. What Danny really does to make money is rob banks with his small crew of men. Later in the movie, it’s mentioned that Danny has been robbing banks since he was 17. “Ambulance” never mentions if Danny spent any time in prison for it, because the filmmakers want to make Danny look like a smooth mastermind who’s too clever to get caught.

Viewers find out during Danny and Will’s jumbled conversation in their awkward reunion that Will and Danny grew up together as brothers because Will was adopted as a very young child by Danny’s biological father, L.T. Sharp. L.T., who is now dead (for reasons not explained in the movie), is described in various parts of the movie as an evil, psychotic but brilliant criminal whose specialty was bank robberies. Not surprisingly, L.T. was the one who groomed Danny to become a bank robber, while L.T. eventually became estranged from Will. And because “Ambulance” doesn’t care about women, except to put them in the movie to react to whatever the men do, it should come as no surprise that this movie never mentions any mother that Danny and Will might have had in their lives.

Because of Danny’s criminal lifestyle, Will has been estranged from Danny for a long time, although how long is never detailed in the movie. What the movie does show more than once is the racism when people try to insult Will by saying that he’s not Danny’s “real” brother, because Will is black, and Danny is white. Will tells Danny that he needs $231,000 for Amy’s surgery. Danny says that he doesn’t have the money, but that he and his crew are about to commit a major bank robbery that day, in a theft where they expect to get $32 million.

Danny tells Will that Will can get more than enough of the money that he needs if Will is a part of the bank robbery. (The robbers’ target is Los Angeles Federal Bank & Trust, which is a fictional bank name for this movie. In real life, the movie’s bank scenes were filmed at a former branch of Bank of America.) And to put even more pressure on Will, Danny tells Will that Will has just five minutes to decide before they leave for the heist. We all know what Will decides, because almost all of the mayhem in “Ambulance” wouldn’t exist without Will’s bad decisions.

Meanwhile, viewers are introduced to Camille “Cam” Thompson (played by Eiza González), the only woman in “Ambulance” who has more than 10 minutes of dialogue in the movie. The filmmakers of “Ambulance” want viewers to forget that women and girls are 51% of the population in the U.S. and in the world. Cam (she insists on being called Cam, not Camille) is a very jaded and egotistical lead field-training officer of Falck Company’s Ambulance No. 3.

As an emergency medical technician (EMT), Cam is technically very proficient in her job, but her personality is emotionally detached and off-putting. She’s first seen responding to an emergency scene, where somehow a girl named Lindsey (played by Briella Guiza), who’s about 8 or 9 years old, has gotten a spike from a wrought-iron fence embedded in her abdomen. (The accident is not shown in the movie.) In the ambulance, Cam attends to Lindsey and talks to Lindsey’s frantic mother (played by Jenn Proske) in a way that is almost robotic. Cam says all the right things, but there’s no real empathy in her voice, and she often gets irritable with the people who need her help.

After Lindsey is taken to the hospital, Cam has a conversation with a new EMT trainee named Scott Daskins (played by Colin Woodell), who seems to be romantically attracted to Cam. Scott looks disappointed when Cam tells him that she’s dating a doctor who works at a local hospital. In this conversation, Cam makes it clear that the people with whom she comes in contact on the job are just names to her, and she just moves on to the next assignment. Cam advises Scott to take the same emotionally disconnected approach to the job, because she says it’s the best way to deal with all the trauma that they witness.

Later, when Cam and Scott have a meal together at a diner, Cam gets somewhat of a rude awakening when Scott tells her how much she’s disliked by her co-workers. Scott says that although Cam is considered one of the best EMTs on the job when it comes to the technical responsibilities, she has a reputation for being unlikable and “no one wants to be your partner.” Cam looks a little hurt and shocked by this revelation, but it still shows how huge her ego is that she has no self-awareness about how being cold and unfeeling to other people can make people dislike her. It’s at this point in the movie that you know Cam is going to get some “life lessons” that will possibly redeem her and her obnoxious attitude.

Danny has meticulously planned the bank robbery. But, of course, some unexpected things don’t go according to the plan. Danny has a motley crew of about six or seven robbers on this heist, including a hippie-ish dimwit named Trent (played by Brendan Miller), who insists on wearing Birkenstock sandals to the bank robbery, and he gets teased repeatedly about his choice of shoes. There’s also a hulking dolt nicknamed Mel Gibson (played by Devan Chandler Long), because Danny thinks the guy wears his long, bushy beard like a 13th century Scottish warrior in Mel Gibson’s Oscar-winning movie “Braveheart.” Apparently, Danny and the “Ambulance” filmmakers forgot that Gibson didn’t have a beard in “Braveheart.”

What Danny and his crew didn’t anticipate was that a rookie cop named Zach Parker (played by Jackson White) from the Los Angeles Police Department would insist on coming in the bank, without Zach knowing that a robbery was taking place at that exact moment. At this point in the robbery, Danny (who’s dressed in casual business wear) has locked the entrance door and disguised himself as the bank manager, by wearing the manager’s name tag. Zach wants to go in the bank to ask a bank teller named Kim (played by Kayli Tran) out on a date, because Zach has had a crush on Kim for a while.

While Zach’s more experienced, corporal-ranked cop partner Mark Ranshaw (played by Cedric Sanders) waits outside, Zach approaches the bank’s front door, while Danny tells him that the bank is temporarily closed and refuses to let Zach inside. Zach persists on being let in the bank and says that his reason for being in the bank won’t take long. Danny finally relents and lets Zach in, so as not to arouse suspicion.

Zach notices that he’s the only customer in the bank, but he doesn’t seem too concerned about it, because Danny told him that the bank was closed. Kim just happens to be at a bank teller window. Zach asks Danny what Kim’s last name is, and Danny quickly makes up a lie. Zach nervously asks Kim out on the date. When Zach notices that Kim is crying in distress, and that her last name on her name tag isn’t the same last name that Danny told him, Danny blows his cover and pulls a gun on Zach. Outside the bank, police officer Mark sees through the bank window that there’s an armed robbery in progress and calls for backup.

And that’s when all hell breaks loose. In the chaos of the robbers trying to get away, Will ends up shooting Zach in the leg. Much later in the movie, they find out that Zach was also shot in his spleen. During this desperate getaway, the rest of the robbers scatter outside, while Will and Danny stick together and hide in the bank. An ambulance is called for Zach, so Scott and Cam are the ambulance EMTs who arrive on the scene. The bank is surrounded by cops, and the robbers’ getaway driver becomes unavailable. And so, a trapped Will and Danny decide to hijack the ambulance to make their getaway.

Scott gets knocked down on the ground, while Danny and Will steal the ambulance, with Will driving and suddenly having the skills of a professional stunt driver throughout the rest of the movie. Cam is in the back of the ambulance while trying to give medical treatment to Zach, who is bleeding profusely and mostly unconscious during this entire ordeal. Danny, who alternates between the front and the back of the ambulance, thinks that he and Will should have more leverage if Cam and Zach are held as hostages.

It’s all just an excuse for “Ambulance” to show a lot of shaky cam chase footage and bombastic action scenes, with a lot of yelling and wreckage along the way. At various points in this moronic movie, Will punches Zach in the face to get him to shut up and render Zach unconscious; Danny tells a lot of bad jokes; and Cam (who’s not qualified to do surgery) does very unsanitary emergency spleen surgery on Zach, by getting videoconference advice from doctors on the ambulance’s laptop computer. Yes, it’s that kind of movie. And there are more silly shenanigans, such as people who are seriously injured and unconscious who then suddenly wake up as if they just took a harmless nap, or civilians show up at active crime scenes while law enforcement gives the kind of access to these civilians that wouldn’t be allowed in real life.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Police Department’s S.I.S. (Secret Intelligence Service) team, led by an arrogant, macho imbecile named Captain Tyler Monroe (played by Garret Dillahunt), gets involved in the chase. Captain Monroe and his S.I.S. team were actually undercover and waiting outside the bank during the robbery, because they laid a trap when they heard that this bank might be targeted for a robbery, but Danny and Will still managed to escape. Some members of the S.I.S. (who are almost all white) unfairly blame Zach’s cop partner Mark for Zach getting shot, in a scene that has racist overtones because Mark is African American.

Captain Monroe makes dumb mistakes after dumb mistakes in his bungled efforts to capture these bank robbers. There’s a scene in the movie where Captain Monroe tells his subordinates to temporarily halt because he wants to rescue his English mastiff dog Nitro, who was unwittingly left in the back seat of one of the cars giving chase. Trivia note: Nitro’s real name is Nitro Zeus (named after a “Transformers” robot villain), and he is the real-life dog of “Ambulance” director/producer Bay, who has directed most of and produced all of the “Transformers” movies so far.

The LAPD isn’t the only law enforcement to get involved in the chase. An uptight FBI agent named Anson Clark (played by Keir O’Donnell) gets called to the scene. He gets the call while he’s in the middle of couples therapy with his husband Kyle (played by Brendan Robinson), who is very annoyed that Anson has to rush off and do his FBI job of catching criminals and trying to save people’s lives. Because “Ambulance” is such a badly made movie, Anson is the only FBI agent who’s shown doing any real work in this case.

And predictably, “new school” FBI Agent Clark (who wears suits on the job) and “old school” Captain Monroe (who wears camouflage pants and a baseball cap on the job) have opposite personalities and ways of working, so they clash with each other. But there’s an extra twist to Anson’s involvement in this case: Anson soon reveals that he knows Danny from their college days, when they both studied criminology at the University of Maryland. By the way, the law enforcement in “Ambulance” is depicted as completely incompetent and slow in doing background checks when they find out the identities of the bank robbers.

“Ambulance” tries to inject some comedy to lighten the mood of the intense violence and chase scenes, but it doesn’t erase the ugly stench of racism, sexism and overall stupid filmmaking that pollute this movie. Other than Cam, the movie’s only other female character who gets more than five minutes of dialogue is LAPD Lieutenant Dzaghig (played by Olivia Stambouliah), who talks for less than 10 minutes in the film. Her role is to be Captain Monroe’s sidekick, who delivers wisecracks in a deadpan manner.

Danny utters most of the tacky jokes in “Ambulance,” because the filmmakers want to portray Danny as an unhinged but lovable rogue who can laugh at himself and others around him. In a scene where Danny gets sprayed with a fire extinguisher, Danny is upset that the water ruined his clothing. “It’s cashmere!” Danny yells to no one in particular. During another part of the movie, Danny leads a bonkers sing-along to Christopher Cross’ 1979 hit “Sailing.”

Will is just there to follow Danny’s orders. On the surface, Will is portrayed as more sensitive and less prone to violence than Danny. However, based on who Will decides to shoot in the movie (Zach isn’t his only shooting victim), Will is not mentally stable at all. Will’s decisions actually make him look more violent and more foolish than everyone else in this bank robber crew, including Danny. Danny isn’t off the hook for dumb decisions either, because holding a wounded cop hostage after committing a bank robbery is almost a sure-fire way for criminals to get even harsher prison sentences, if the criminals aren’t killed by police during the hostage crisis.

As for Cam, she really is just another token lead female in a Michael Bay action movie, where she ends up with makeup that stays perfectly intact throughout the entire messy ordeal. Even her sweat looks polished. Sure, Cam has some fake-looking marks on her face that’s supposed to resemble dirt, and her clothes get somewhat ripped and “bloodied” in the pandemonium. But somehow, her bright red lipstick and other face cosmetic makeup never get smeared and remain perfectly contoured in ways that are unrealistic for anyone who goes through what Cam goes through in this insufferable film.

The only other Latinos with speaking roles in “Ambulance” are criminals, led by a menacing thug named Hector “Papi” Gutierrez (played by A Martinez), who owns an automobile warehouse/chop shop in downtown Los Angeles. Danny calls on Papi during the chase when Danny needs help. Papi used to work for L.T. Sharp, so he’s known Danny for a long time and is almost like an “uncle” to Danny.

And because “Ambulance” is a cesspool of empty-headed, racist clichés, there’s a buffoon African American character named Castro (played by Wale Folarin, also known as rapper Wale), who is portrayed as Danny’s most vapid subordinate. There’s a part of the movie where Danny tells Castro to meet him in a designated area to spray paint the entire exterior of the ambulance in less than two minutes, which is a dopey and unrealistic request in and of itself. Instead of bringing the requested blue paint, Castro brings neon green paint to do the job.

None of the cast members in this movie does anything great. In fact, they frequently embarrass themselves with all the junk dialogue they have to say and witless scenarios that they have to enact. “Ambulance” drags out the chase scenes to ridiculous levels, but ironically, the movie has probably the shortest time length for end credits of any major studio film released this year. That’s assuming anyone wants to stick around for the end credits after enduring this train wreck of a movie.

Anyone who is okay with this type of “entertainment” is okay with tone-deaf Hollywood filmmakers churning out bigoted and outdated content because these arrogant filmmakers think most movie audiences are too dumb to care. Needless to say, “Ambulance” is a sloppy and inferior remake of the original movie. If you care about supporting quality entertainment that doesn’t insult your intelligence, do not waste your time with “Ambulance,” which is nothing but mind-numbing trash with a major studio budget.

Universal Pictures will release “Ambulance” in U.S. cinemas on April 8, 2022.

Review: ‘Golden Arm,’ starring Mary Holland, Betsy Sodaro, Olivia Stambouliah, Eugene Cordero, Dawn Luebbe, Dot-Marie Jones and Ron Funches

May 7, 2021

by Carla Hay

Betsy Sodaro and Mary Holland (both arm wrestling) in “Golden Arm” (Photo courtesy of Utopia Distribution)

“Golden Arm”

Directed by Maureen Bharoocha

Culture Representation: Taking place in Kanasas, Oklahoma, and a few other U.S. states, the comedy film “Golden Arm” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some African Americans and Asians) representing the middle-class and the working-class.

Culture Clash: A mild-mannered baker is recruited by her truck-driving best friend to enter an arm-wrestling tournament.

Culture Audience: “Golden Arm” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching a foul-mouthed but ultimately sentimental and predictable comedy film.

Dawn Luebbe and Olivia Stambouliah in “Golden Arm” (Photo courtesy of Utopia Distribution)

A movie as formulaic as the comedy “Golden Arm” can be enjoyable if the cast members make the film more interesting. Thanks largely to a charming performance by lead actress Mary Holland, “Golden Arm” is a breezy and occasionally raunchy story of how a shy baker ended up as a serious contender in an arm-wrestling tournament. Of course, the story is about much more than winning the contest and more about how what she discovers about herself along the way.

“Golden Arm” is the feature-film directorial debut of Maureen Bharoocha, who has a background in directing television (such as ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live”) and short films. The “Golden Arm” screenplay (written by Ann Marie Allison and Jenna Milly) hits all the major clichés of sports comedies and buddy comedies. There’s a big sports competition with a high-stakes prize for the protagonists. There’s a duo of opposite personalities who are stuck together while traveling, with some inevitable bickering and a falling out or two. And, of course, there’s a villain who’s intent on defeating the protagonists.

In “Golden Arm,” Holland portrays a meek and neurotic baker named Melanie, who is in her mid-30s and who lives somewhere in Kansas. Melanie is financially struggling to keep her bakery in business. She’s the bakery’s only employee. And her personal life is also in a rut, because her marriage of five years has ended in divorce. The movie’s first scene with Melanie features her arrogant ex-husband Steve (played by Matt Newell) showing up unannounced at the bakery so that Melanie can sign the final divorce papers.

As an example of Melanie being afraid of confrontation, the movie shows that she has a regular customer named Kristen (played by Lauren Knutti), a snooty yoga instructor who orders the same thing every time: a cup of coffee, which automatically comes with a free scone. Kristen makes a point of demanding the scone, she takes one bite, and then makes sure that Melanie sees her throws the scone away in the bakery’s trash bin. Melanie displays a cheerful “the customer is always right” attitude, but inside she’s seething at Kristen’s insulting rudeness.

And speaking of rude people, Melanie’s best friend/former college roommate is the loud and obnoxious Danny (played by Betsy Sodaro), who drives a big rig truck for a living. In her free time, Danny loves to hang out in bars, arm wrestle, and pick fights with unsuspecting people. However, Danny is fiercely loyal to the friends that she has, which include a group of female arm wrestlers called The Dominators.

The opening of “Golden Arm” shows Danny in a seedy-looking bar and losing a wrestling match to someone who’s an even bigger menace than Danny is: Brenda (played by Olivia Stambouliah), also known by her arm wrestling name The Bone Crusher. Danny loses so badly that her wrist is fractured. In retaliation, Danny head butts Brenda, and they get into a big brawl.

Outside the bar, Danny gripes about Brenda to Danny’s friends Jerry (played by Ahmed Bharoocha), Rambea (played by Veronique Parker) and Momo (played by Ashley Mandanas): “She’s getting rid of all of the competition so that she can get the Grand Slam. And there’s no way in hell I’m going to let her win this tournament! We need somebody new, somebody she’s not expecting. We need a ringer.”

You know what that means. It isn’t long before Danny shows up at Melanie’s bakery and asks her to go on a big rig haul with her to make some money and have a gal pal road trip. Melanie and Danny haven’t seen each other in a while, but they still consider each other to be close friends. Later in the movie, there are a few flashbacks of Melanie and Danny during their college roommate days, when they used to smoke marijuana and arm wrestle for fun.

At first, Melanie immediately declines Danny’s offer to go on a road trip. Melanie’s excuse is that she can’t afford to take time off from work. But when Danny tells her that they will make enough money to help Melanie pay her increasing debt and bills, Melanie changes her mind and calculates that she can afford to close the bakery for about a week to go on the trip.

During their road trip in Danny’s truck, viewers find out that Melanie and Danny’s favorite song is Heart’s 1980s hit “These Dreams.” Cue the scene where they sing along to “These Dreams” in the truck. It’s not the last time the song will be heard in the movie. Danny and Melanie also stop at a bar, where a misunderstanding happens between the bar’s no-nonsense owner Randy (played by Kate Flannery) and Melanie.

To smooth things over, Danny suggests that Melanie and Randy arm wrestle each other, and the winner will get some cash. Some of the bar patrons take bets. The odds are in favor of Randy, because of her tough demeanor. But viewers shouldn’t be surprised when Melanie wins, because why else would Danny think that Melanie was a good candidate to be in an arm wrestling tournament on short notice?

This small victory boosts Melanie’s confidence. And so, Danny decides the time is right to reveal the real agenda for the trip. Danny tells Melanie about the national arm wrestling tournament in Oklahoma City that she wants Melanie to enter. Melanie reluctantly agrees to compete in the tournament because the grand prize is $15,000.

Melanie hasn’t arm wrestled in years and feels like her wrestling skills are rusty. During their road trip, Melanie reluctantly agrees to do some training with a tough-talking taskmaster named Big Sexy (played by Dot-Marie Jones), who is a friend of Danny’s. Big Sexy, who has 15 arm-wrestling world titles, is shocked to find out that Melanie is actually a powerhouse arm wrestler.

However, Melanie gets angry about Danny pressuring her to be in the tournament, and they argue about it. She tells Danny: “I’m just so sick of everyone dictating my life! I never put myself first! I don’t listen to my gut!”

Eventually, Melanie calms down and says she’ll still be in the tournament. Melanie and Danny continue on to Oklahoma City. However, Melanie keeps getting plagued by self-doubt, and there are more moments in the film where she might or might not quit the tournament. The event is being held at a place called Star Arena, which really just looks like a large dive bar.

Meanwhile, Melanie has an awkward “meet cute” moment with a potential love interest named Greg (played by Eugene Cordero), when they both end up in their underwear in the same dressing room. Greg is a Major League Baseball umpire, he’s single, and there’s an immediate attraction between him and Melanie. Their blossoming romance is sweet and a counterbalance to a lot of the crudeness in the movie.

As watchable as Holland is in “Golden Arm,” a lot of viewers might find Sodaro’s Danny character very grating and hard to take. Danny’s over-aggressiveness is best served in small doses. However, there are enough comedic moments with Danny that might give people some chuckles. One of the funniest running gags is the lusty relationship that Danny has with tournament emcee/referee Carl (played by Ron Funches), which results in some amusing slapstick comedy.

Stambouliah’s portrayal of ruthless villain Deborah is very caricature-like. Deborah, who is constantly snarling or smirking, dresses in an outer corset and other clothes that look like she watched too many episodes of “Xena: Warrior Princess.” Deborah has a sniveling sidekick named Tessie (played by Dawn Luebbe), who brings some occasional laughs to the story.

Although “Golden Arm” plays out exactly like you think it does, there’s enough originality in the story so that it isn’t a completely paint-by-numbers project. Aparna Nancherla has a small but scene-stealing role as an arm wrestler named Coco Cherie, who dresses like a mermaid cosplayer. Coco Cherie has a hilarious monologue in the movie about the differences between labia and testicles and how they can be used in metaphors for bravery.

Melanie’s experience in this wrestling tournament doesn’t go very smoothly, because “Golden Arm” is a stereotypical underdog story. She goes through three different name changes for her wrestling persona, which is also symbolic of Melanie’s search for self-confidence and her true identity during this life-changing trip. All of the production elements of “Golden Arm” are solid, although at times it looks like a made-for-TV movie. And that’s okay. Not all entertaining movies have to be Oscar-worthy, just like not all arm wrestlers can be champions.

Utopia Distribution released “Golden Arm” in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and VOD on April 30, 2021.

Copyright 2017-2024 Culture Mix
CULTURE MIX