MovieChat Forums > A Simple Plan (1999) Discussion > Which mistake was the dumbest of all?

Which mistake was the dumbest of all?

posted 11 years ago by BigEasy1203
34 replies | jump to latest

So right after finding the money, they decide to count it ... right in the back of their *beep* truck sitting on the side of the road! I know it's a tiny town and they are out in the boonies, but certainly someone could (and did) happen by.

Or, was it going back to the plane and putting some of the money back? This was pretty idiotic. Not only do you give away $500K, but you have to go back to the scene and risk being seen again (which of course happened in the film). This sets in motion a series of events that leads to several murders.

[–] mkohary 10 years ago

Yup, those were two of the worst. Of course right off the bat, Lou has Jacob approach Carl's car and actually mention hearing a plane - that was as dumb as it gets.

But the more I watch this movie, the more I get the sense that no matter what they'd done, things would have gone badly wrong. It's just human psychology, and a lot of their issues were that they turned on themselves. That would have happened no matter what.

[–] landrynumbertwo 10 years ago

Hank telling Lou he was recording him was pretty f'ing dumb. He must've known that a fight would ensue from this.

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[–] transmentalist 10 years ago

Hank telling Lou he was recording him was pretty f'ing dumb.

Truly dumb ... but understandable in the context of the scene.

Hank was probably more than a little drunk, and was being mocked by Jacob and Lou, so he reacted to the mockery

It was a reaction, a stupid one, but understandable

Jacob mentioning the plane to Carl, though, not understandable except as a dumb person's idea of being clever. No surprise it was actually Lou's idea.

[–] Movie_Buff_Brad 9 years ago

Hank was probably more than a little drunk, and was being mocked by Jacob and Lou, so he reacted to the mockery

Hank was pretending to drink, or at least holding back, in order to stay clear headed. That's why they start making fun of his bird sips. So he doesn't even have being drunk on his side.

But for me it was not just calling out the phony FBI agent right there in the police station.

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[–] juli18807 (71) 4 years ago

I don’t think he knew the FBI agent was phony at that point

[–] ajtaylor82 10 years ago

I just re-watched this last night....I was going to say, if he was REALLY smart he should have just left the money there and not told either one of them, then come back later for it...

But, my memory was wrong...there was no way the others wouldn't have seen it, as Hank wasn't even aware of the money until Lou opened up the bag...technically Lou was the one who found it.

If only he would have realized it was there, left it there, not tell them, and come back for it...use his wife for a lookout.

But, there would be no movie then...

Otherwise, yes, I agree...unless the sun was going down (which it appeared to not be), they should have just counted it right there.

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ajtaylor82 10 years ago

Another good point.

If he was going to report it; probably just contacting the FBI first would have been the best move.

[–] miamisfootballplaya 10 years ago

By far the dumbest move was deciding to have one sit on the money until spring. Really?! Just split up the money, everyone leave the country, and nobody will connect their disappearances to the plane crash. The entire plot was beyond dumb from that point forward.

The second dumbest thing was killing the guy on his snowmobile. After BBT attacked him, I would have bribed him with $10,000 and just say that "my brother is a little touched. We're getting help for him. Please let's not turn this into a police matter." Murder was entirely unnecessary.

[–] cartesianthought 9 years ago

Splitting up the money would have been a bad idea. They would have spent it and the FBI would have traced the serial numbers to them. For all of Hank's vices aside, he never spent a dime of the fortune.

Agree on the bribe bit.

[–] miamisfootballplaya 9 years ago

Cartesian,

In hindsight that would have been a bad idea considering the serial numbers. However, if they had waited until they were out of the country to spend the money, how could the FBI possibly trace it? Also, when it comes to mistakes that got everyone killed, I think everyone would have been better off to get busted for stealing the money from a crashed plane rather than the bloodbath that ensued.

[–] Locust789 9 years ago

The book describes this situation much better actually. Jacob being the loner that he was, vehemently refused to go anywhere and wanted to stay in town, buy back his father's farm and restore it. Lou on the other hand was a hick who couldn't be trusted with the money anyway. But really though, they were doomed from the start and at no point did it seem like it was a good idea to keep the money, even in the book.

[–] johnmarti59 (2356) 4 years ago

Wait for the statute of limitations to run out?

[–] ExTechOp (2770) 4 years ago

Statute of limitations would run on theft in 3 to 6 years

Statute of limitations on tax evasion would be 6 years

There's no statute of limitations on civil tax penalties, though, so they should hold back at least 50% of the cash to pay off back-taxes and penalties.

Think any of them could've waited that long, though? Lou couldn't even wait until spring.

[–] jkholman 8 years ago

Miamisfootballplaya,

you are correct. Let us know that Hank and Jacob panicked.

[–] tareq-996-931402 10 years ago

I would hate to say it, but the dumbest mistake of all was when Hank told his wife. By doing so, that set off the initial chain reaction that brought hank and his brother back to the plane which started the first murder. It was her idea after all

[–] Wombstar 10 years ago

Not asking to see an official FBI badge.
Any Smart person would have asked to see it first. That's the one real act of stupidity I can't get my head around, I blame that dumb police man or whatever he was.

[–] jtf1986 10 years ago

Same with The Hidden and Surveillance. Movie cops seems to be easily fooled by those pretending to be FBI agents.

[–] Hardline_Pro 9 years ago

Isn't it easy to fake badges?

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[–] JaySherman7 9 years ago

Jacob telling Lou that Hank had actually murdered the old man with the snowmobile. why in seven hells would he do that?!? at least he thought he was being clever by mentioning hearing a plane. but telling Lou that was beyond stupid. almost made me glad when Jacob got shot. almost

No way Bells is bigger than Waimea, bro.

[–] Hardline_Pro 9 years ago

Revealing to Lou that he has been recording...as soon as he confesses...and not making copies or hiding it beforehand.

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