The Simple Heist (Enkelstöten) is a Swedish comedy TV series. Season 1 is currently streaming on Acorn TV. A second season is underway.
I’m a fan of Lotta Tejle from her work in 30° i februari (30 Degrees in February). When I saw that she was one of the two female lead characters in The Simple Heist (Enkelstöten), I decided to watch it.
Tejle plays Jenny, a math teacher. Her co-star is Cecilia (Sissela Kyle), a doctor. These two sensible, mature, women with responsible lives meet a dying criminal named Stellan (Peter Carlberg). He gives them a surefire idea for a bank robbery. He can’t do it because he’s dying so he shares the idea with his doctor.
Jenny needs money because she had a fling with the chemistry teacher, Bengt (David Wiberg). Her husband Gunnar (Ralph Carlsson) is divorcing her. Because of a 30 year old prenup, Gunnar can divorce her and keep everything for himself. He’s angry about her betrayal and intends to do exactly that.
Nevermind that Gunnar’s vindictive divorce would mean his ex and his whiny 16 year old daughter Harriet (Kristin Andersson) would be homeless and broke.
Cecilia manages the money in her marriage. She hasn’t told her husband Jan (Tomas von Brömssen) she lost all their money in the Chinese stock market. He wants to buy a place in Provence where they can retire.
Well, of course, these mature, sensible, and very broke women cope with their problem by robbing a bank. Of course.
After that, everything is mayhem.
Many ridiculous things happen to the two inexperienced criminals. Many stupid choices are made. The comedy is near slapstick yet the two female leads manage to bring their full humanity to bear on the situation. They are, after all, excellent actors.
There are many tropes in The Simple Heist (Enkelstöten). I’m not familiar enough with Swedish comedy to know if this is standard fare. The other characters and the plot points as the two women struggled to get and keep the stolen money were trite and well-worn. The police were mostly idiots and the real crooks were even stupider.
They managed to stay out of jail in season 1. Both loved the adrenaline rush of getting away with a crime and there were hints at the end of the season that they might try stealing something else. We’ll have to wait for season 2 to show up on Acorn TV to find out if they continue to live a life of crime.
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Have you watched this Swedish series? What did you think of it?
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