One for the Money - D

Rated PG-13, 106 minutes

I will say I probably haven't given Katherine Heigl a fair shake, especially after she walked out on her hit TV show "Grey's Anatomy" (and she now wants to return) and started showing diva-like behavior. I will attempt to treat her better, but it doesn't help when she keeps making crap formulaic romantic comedies like "One for the Money," which really seems like a reworked version of 2010's "Bounty Hunter" with Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston, itself a terrible movie (also, the film wasn't screened for critics, never a good sign). Recently divorced and desperate for a job following a string of misfortunes, 30-year-old Stephanie Plum (Heigl) goes to work at her cousin's bail-bond business, and begins investigating her first case. Stephanie proves to be a resourceful employee with a skill for ferreting out the truth however her first case is that of a Trenton, N.J., cop (Jason O'Mara) who broke her heart in high school and now stands accused of murder. One word to describe "One for the Money": awful. Based on Janet Evanovich's 1994 novel of the same, "One for the Money" is as bad as it looks, which means it could turn a profit based on Heigl's name alone. Part murder mystery and part romantic comedy, not a bit of it's original, funny or engaging, but "One for the Money" appears to have lost most of it's bite in post-production, which is unfortunate as the material, unlike many of the other things Heigl has done, had some potential; and for what it's worth, Heigl is less annoying than usual. The only memorable bits are those too brief-ones by scene-stealers Sherri Shepherd ("The View" co-host) as a funny hooker, and veteran performer Debbie Reynolds as Heigl's wise-cracking grandma. If one is truly for the money, do not waste it on this one.