Every once in a while, a guy has to take one for the team and take in the so-called “chick flick”. That’s how I ended up at a screening of 2012’s One for the Money: my then-girlfriend wanted to see it and I did my duty.

No, Money wasn’t what caused the break-up. Actually, while clearly aimed at the female audience, I thought Money provided perfectly serviceable entertainment for the more manly segment of the audience – and me, too!

Jersey girl Stephanie Plum (Katherine Heigl) finds herself stuck in a dead-end existence. She divorced her husband and lost her department store job, so she’s left with no money and no prospects. Her grandmother (Debbie Reynolds) sets her up to get work at her cousin Vinnie’s (Patrick Fischler) bail bonds operation.

This is supposed to be a filing gig, but that one’s finished, so instead, Stephanie goes out on a limb and takes work as a bounty hunter to bring back folks who’ve missed court appearances. Stephanie should probably start small, but she goes for the gusto when she takes the job to locate Joe Morelli (Jason O’Mara), a cop accused of murder. Stephanie wants the $50,000 bounty, but she also wants to get her revenge on Morelli, a guy who banged her years earlier and then never called. (Hell hath no fury and all that.) We follow Stephanie’s adventures as she attempts to get her man – in more ways than one – and maybe even solve the Morelli case.

Money received absolutely brutal reviews - it doesn’t get much lower than two percent on Rotten Tomatoes – which I must admit I don’t get. At no point does this threaten to become a cinematic classic, but it offers more than enough breezy entertainment to deserve better than two freakin’ percent!

Yeah, it comes with its flaws. Money definitely has a “been there, done that” factor, as comparisons with 2010’s The Bounty Hunter feel inevitable. Granted, the woman was the fugitive in that one, but both are hybrid action flicks/romantic comedies, and quite a few similarities crop up between them. Heck, O’Mara even kind of looks like Hunter’s Gerard Butler.

Also, though it clocks in at a fairly brief 91 minutes, Money tends to drag a bit. Most of the slow spots come in the film’s second half, which occurs primarily because the story takes a more serious tone. While it still offers a fair amount of goofy action comedy, it goes darker and digs more heavily into the crime tale. Those elements make sense for the narrative but they don’t quite fit the rest of the flick; it simply works better as a light action comedy, so the uglier moments feel out of place.

Even with those lapses, I still think Money delivers a fairly pleasurable little romp. Heigl lets her Jersey accent come and go, but she provides good personality in the part, and we find a solid roster of supporting actors as well. Although Debbie Reynolds camps it up as grandma, she’s still a hoot; it’s great to see her on screen at almost 80, and she brings life to her small role.

Honestly, I find it tough to highlight much that Money does especially right, as it’s not a movie with a boatload of obvious strengths. That said, it also doesn’t come with a ton of weaknesses. Even the criticisms I offer above remain minor, as the film moves along at a generally good pace and gives us an entertaining adventure. Nothing here dazzles, but the movie offers fun “date night” entertainment.

One for the Money appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-Ray Disc. The transfer remained watchable but seemed a bit lackluster for a brand-new studio film.

Sharpness became one of the erratic elements. Though much of the movie showed decent to good clarity, a little softness crept in along the way. These elements weren’t dominant, but I thought the image lacked the definition I expect from Blu-ray. I noticed no issues with jagged edges or shimmering, and edge haloes remained absent. I also failed to see any signs of print flaws.

In terms of colors, Money opted for a fairly standard romantic comedy palette. Even though this had an action bent, it still favored a “rom-com” somewhat golden tint in an otherwise generally natural color scheme. The hues appeared reasonably full and warm. Blacks were acceptably dark and tight, but shadows tended to be somewhat dense; low-light shots could lack great visibility. In the end, this was a pretty average image for a recent film.

At least the movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 offered a bit more pizzazz. Granted, the emphasis on the romantic comedy side of things meant the soundscape didn’t sizzle, but it still worked better than usual for that genre due to the variety of action scenes. Those used vehicles and weapons to fill out the spectrum, and the flick also boasted a nice sense of general ambience; the mix filled out street scenes and the like with a good sense of place.

Audio quality appeared satisfactory. Music was warm and full, while speech came across as natural and distinctive. Effects seemed accurate and concise, without distortion or other concerns. Nothing here excelled, but the mix was more than sufficient for a “B”.

Only a handful of extras crop up here, and these start with two featurettes. Making the Money runs 11 minutes, one second and offers notes from producers Wendy Finerman, Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi, co-writer Liz Brixius, director Julie Anne Robinson, author Janet Evanovich, and actors Katheine Heigl, Jason O’Mara, Debra Monk, John Leguizamo, Louis Mustillo, Sherri Shepherd, and Debbie Reynolds. They discuss the source novel and its adaptation, story/character areas, cast and performances, Robinson’s work on the set, and general thoughts about the flick.

“Making” exists for promotional purposes, but it’s actually pretty good. Sure, we get the usual happy talk, but we also find a smattering of useful insights and nice archival materials; for instance, we see “chemistry tests” to gauge the cinematic connection between Heigl and O’Mara. This becomes an above-average promotional featurette.

During the 10-minute, 28-second Bond Girls: Kicking Ass in the Bail Bonds Industry, we hear from Big Boy Bail Bonds co-owners Gina and Roxy Keshishyan, Lipstick Bail Bonds and Bounty Hunters’ Lisa and Teresa Golt, bail bond agent and bounty hunter Heather Price, and fugitive recovery agent Albert Lashbrook. They chat about the bail bonds/bounty hunter business from the female point of view. This offers a nice little look at the real life background for the career featured in the film.

Next we get a Gag Reel. This lasts two minutes, 37 seconds and provides a pretty standard assortment of gaffes and chortles. It’s short enough to be painless but there’s nothing particularly memorable here.

One Deleted Scene fills a mere 47 seconds. It gives us a quick romantic segment between Stephanie and Morelli that I suspect would’ve come at the film’s end. It’s a negligible sequence without much value.

The disc launches with ads for What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Casa De Mi Padre, Man on a Ledge, Killers and The Switch. These pop up under Also from Lionsgate as well, and we find the trailer for Money, too.

Although Rotten Tomatoes is usually a good representation of film quality, I have to disagree with the miserable two percent earned by One for the Money. At no point does it risk greatness, but it gives us a generally brisk, fun little action-comedy with enough entertainment value to make it reasonably likable. The Blu-ray offers adequate picture, positive audio and a lackluster set of supplements. Ignore the consensus and give Money a look if you want some innocuous but enjoyable action-comedy material.