Two brothers and a friend, all blue-collar workers, come across millions of dollars in lost cash and make a plan to keep their find from the authorities, but it isn't long before complications and mistrust weave their way into the plan.
Posted: May 9, 2026
I always enjoy watching older movies from the 80’s and 90’s, so today’s pick was the movie A Simple Plan starring Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, and Bridget Fonda. I’m honestly not sure how I missed this one since it came out in 1998 and I really like the entire cast. I guess it’s just one of those movies that somehow slipped past me over the years. I will say though, I’m really glad I finally watched it because it was surprisingly good. I also enjoy just about every movie directed by Sam Raimi, and this one was no exception.
I’ll keep this fairly short since it’s an older movie and I don’t feel like I need to go into every little detail. If you’re wondering what it’s about, it’s actually pretty simple. Two brothers and a friend who live in a small town chase a fox into the woods after nearly hitting it with their truck. While they’re out there, they stumble across a crashed plane and inside they find a duffle bag containing $4.4 million dollars. Naturally, they decide to keep the money, but only under one condition. Hank (Bill Paxton) will hold onto the cash until spring when the snow melts and the plane is eventually discovered. If nobody comes looking for the money by then, they’ll split it evenly between the three of them.
Of course, things start going downhill pretty quickly after that and people begin dying. Jacob, played by Billy Bob Thornton, kills a farmer who was about to wander into the woods and potentially find the plane. I should probably mention that Jacob is mentally slow, so his decision making isn’t exactly the greatest. Hank does his best to take care of him and look out for him throughout the movie. Then there’s Lou, Jacob’s friend and the third guy involved in finding the money. He’s not exactly a genius either and is basically the town drunk.
Eventually, Lou wants his share of the money immediately and starts threatening to go to the police about the farmer’s death. Hank and his wife Sarah come up with a plan of their own, which involves secretly recording Lou confessing to the murder himself. From there, everything spirals more and more out of control and the body count keeps climbing during this whole mess.
I’m gonna stop there because I really don’t want to spoil anything else for people who haven’t seen it. What I will say though is that I had a really good time with this movie. It’s mostly a crime thriller/drama, but there’s definitely some dark comedy mixed in there too. You’ll know exactly what I mean once you watch it.
The movie runs about two hours long, but honestly the pacing made it feel much shorter. There were a couple scenes that maybe dragged on a little longer than they needed to, but nothing that really bothered me much. I thought all of the actors did a fantastic job in their roles. Billy Bob Thornton especially stood out to me because this character feels completely different compared to some of his more well known roles. If you’re a fan of his, I’d definitely recommend checking this one out.
I also have to mention the appearance of Gary Cole in this movie. You know… Bill Lumbergh from Office Space. Yup, he plays the FBI agent toward the end of the film. He’s another one of those actors I always enjoy seeing pop up in movies, even if he’s not the main character.
Overall, I’d definitely recommend checking this movie out if you’re looking for one of those classic older sleeper films that flew under the radar. It doesn’t rely on huge action scenes or over-the-top Hollywood nonsense. It’s just a believable story with great acting and solid writing, and honestly I wish Hollywood would go back to making more movies like this. Give it a shot if you haven’t seen it already. I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.
Overall Verdict: If you're look for a classic crime thriller from the 90's with a great cast, this one's worth a watch for sure.
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