Susan's Plan

Susan's Plan is a 1998 American black comedy film written and directed by John Landis, in which a divorced woman enlists her boyfriend and a group of inept accomplices in a scheme to murder her wealthy ex-husband and claim his substantial life insurance payout.^[1]^[2] The story centers on Susan (played by Nastassja Kinski), who grows increasingly desperate after her bitter divorce from Paul (Adrian Paul), a successful businessman whose assets she covets.^[3] With the aid of her lover, an insurance salesman named Sam (Billy Zane), Susan devises a convoluted plot involving multiple failed assassination attempts by colorful but incompetent henchmen, including a pair of bumbling hitmen and a reformed biker.^[2] The film's humor arises from the escalating chaos and mishaps, such as botched smothering and poisoning efforts, highlighting themes of greed and revenge in a satirical vein typical of Landis's style.^[1] Released directly to video in the United States after a limited theatrical run in some international markets, the movie features a supporting cast including Michael Biehn as one of the bumbling hitmen and Rob Schneider in a comedic role as one of the hapless killers.^[2] Despite its ensemble of notable actors and Landis's reputation from classics like The Blues Brothers, Susan's Plan received mixed reviews for its uneven pacing and reliance on slapstick, earning a 21% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.^[3] It also premiered under the alternate title Dying to Get Rich in certain regions, reflecting its focus on avarice-driven crime.^[2]

Synopsis and cast

Plot

Susan's Plan centers on Susan, a woman driven by financial desperation and greed, who devises a scheme to murder her ex-husband Paul in order to claim a substantial payout from his recently increased life insurance policy, of which she remains the beneficiary.^[1] To execute the plot, she recruits her boyfriend Sam, an insurance salesman familiar with policy details, who in turn hires two bumbling hitmen, Bill and Steve, while Susan enlists her hairdresser Betty to lure Paul to a secluded location under false pretenses.^[2] The initial assassination attempt unfolds disastrously when the hitmen shoot Paul three times at close range, but the bullets miraculously miss vital organs, allowing him to survive and be rushed to the hospital; the scene devolves into comedic chaos as the incompetent duo flees in a frantic car chase, narrowly escaping immediate capture.^[1]^[2] With Paul now in intensive care and recovering, the group scrambles for a backup plan amid rising tensions and logistical mishaps. Betty's rough biker boyfriend Bob is brought in to finish the job by sneaking into the hospital and smothering Paul with a pillow, while Betty distracts the attending doctor with flirtations; unlike the prior failure, Bob succeeds, finally killing Paul and setting the insurance claim in motion.^[2] However, the victory is short-lived as internal betrayals erupt: Sam's ex-wife, Penny, overhears details of the conspiracy and blackmails the group, demanding a cut of the proceeds, fracturing loyalties and sparking arguments over profit shares.^[1] The ensuing fallout escalates into absurdity when police investigations intensify after hospital staff grow suspicious of the smothering incident and witness reports from the shooting link back to the hitmen. The conspiracy is uncovered through hospital security footage, triggering pursuits. In the chaos, Bob and Steve are killed in a shootout with authorities. Susan, Sam, Bill, and Penny are arrested, while Betty cleverly slips away undetected, escaping to Las Vegas where she assumes a new identity as a cocktail waitress.^[2]^[1]

Cast

Nastassja Kinski stars as Susan Holland, the determined woman orchestrating a scheme to eliminate her ex-husband and claim his life insurance policy.^[3] Billy Zane portrays Sam Myers, Susan's supportive boyfriend who becomes entangled in her murderous plot.^[2] Adrian Paul plays Paul Holland, Susan's targeted ex-husband whose death is central to the insurance fraud. Michael Biehn appears as Bill, one of the inept hitmen recruited for the job.^[4] Rob Schneider is Steve, another bungling accomplice in the assassination attempts.^[5] Dan Aykroyd depicts Bob, a rough biker enlisted to ensure the victim's demise.^[1] Lara Flynn Boyle takes the role of Betty Johnson, a friend aiding in the convoluted cover-up. Thomas Haden Church is cast as Dr. Chris Stillman, a physician involved in the hospital scenes.^[4] Bill Duke plays Detective Scott, the investigating officer suspicious of the circumstances.^[6] Supporting roles include Carl Ballantine as Harold Beyers, a casino regular; Lisa Edelstein as Penny Myers, Sam's ex-wife; Sheree North as Mrs. Beyers; and Joey Travolta as the bartender, alongside various minor characters such as doctors, receptionists, and security guards portrayed by actors including Randal Kleiser, Nora Kariya, and Eric Chambers. Jennifer Robertson appears uncredited as Sierra.

Production

Development

John Landis wrote and directed Susan's Plan, drawing on his extensive experience in comedy filmmaking, including his 1980 hit The Blues Brothers, to craft a black comedy centered on a series of bungled murder attempts.^[1] Landis conceptualized the film as a farce exploring failed plots driven by greed, evoking the spirit of classic screwball comedies through its chaotic ensemble and escalating mishaps.^[1] He intended the story to blend dark humor with themes of avarice, where a woman's scheme to eliminate her ex-husband unravels due to incompetent accomplices, marking a return to the broad, throwback-style farces of his earlier career.^[1] The primary production company was The Kushner-Locke Company, with executive producers Donald Kushner and Peter Locke overseeing the independent effort. Key producers included Leslie Belzberg, John Landis himself, and Brad Wyman, who helped secure financing rapidly after reading the script, allowing the project to move forward as Landis's first independent feature in over a decade.^[7] This collaboration emphasized a lean operation, with the cast, including lead Nastassja Kinski as Susan, contributing to cost efficiencies by deferring portions of their salaries.^[7] The film was a low-budget production, funded through independent sources such as Imperial Bank, reflecting Landis's efforts to rebuild momentum in feature directing after the professional setbacks from the 1982 Twilight Zone: The Movie accident and ensuing legal proceedings, which had concluded with his acquittal in 1987.^[8]^[7]^[9] This modest financing enabled a quick pre-production phase focused on script polish and casting, prioritizing comedic timing over elaborate sets or effects. Originally titled Dying to Get Rich during development and later used for its video release, the alternative name underscored the film's core theme of avaricious schemes gone awry. This working title captured the essence of the plot's ironic twists, aligning with Landis's vision of a morality tale wrapped in absurdity.

Filming

Principal photography for Susan's Plan took place from April 13 to May 9, 1998, primarily in Los Angeles, California, utilizing urban and suburban settings to capture the film's chase sequences and interior scenes.^[10] The production was helmed by cinematographer Ken Kelsch, who employed a fluid camera style suited to the film's familiar Hollywood locales and comedic tone.^[1] Editor Nancy Morrison handled the post-shoot assembly, while production designer Stuart Blatt oversaw the visual elements, contributing to the modest aesthetic.^[1]^[6] As a low-budget endeavor, the shoot emphasized practical effects for its comedic stunts, including car crashes and fight sequences, avoiding elaborate special effects to maintain efficiency.^[11]^[12] Director John Landis, seeking a small-scale project, confirmed the intentional restraint: "I wanted to make a movie with no special effects, with no big crowd scenes; I wanted to make a small movie."^[12] No specific on-set anecdotes regarding the action scenes have been widely reported, though the constraints fostered a tight, focused production process. The final cut ran 89 minutes, prioritizing concise pacing to heighten the black comedy's rhythm.^[1]

Release and reception

Release

Susan's Plan had its world premiere at the AFI Film Festival on October 29, 1998, where it received a gala screening but limited theatrical exposure followed, confined primarily to festival circuits such as the USA Film Festival on April 24, 1999.^[13]^[1] The film bypassed a wide theatrical release and went straight to video in the United States on March 14, 2000, distributed by Full Moon Features under the Edge Entertainment label, with the DVD version issued by Koch Full Moon Releasing around March 28, 2000; internationally, it was often retitled Dying to Get Rich for its video distribution.^[14] Marketing efforts positioned the film as a black comedy leveraging director John Landis's reputation and the ensemble cast including Nastassja Kinski, Billy Zane, and Dan Aykroyd, though promotion was constrained by subdued festival reception and its low-budget origins, which influenced the pivot to home video.^[1] Initial availability came via VHS, followed by DVD, reflecting the era's home entertainment trends and the film's niche appeal without broader cinematic rollout due to premiere feedback.^[15]^[14]

Reception

Susan's Plan received predominantly negative reviews from critics, reflecting its uneven execution as a black comedy. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an audience score of 21% based on over 500 ratings (as of November 2025), with only 3 critic reviews and no Tomatometer score available. Similarly, it holds a 5.2 out of 10 average rating on IMDb from approximately 1,900 user ratings (as of November 2025), indicating broad audience dissatisfaction.^[3]^[2] In a contemporary review, Variety praised the film's "fitfully funny" elements driven by themes of greed and noted its antic energy and fluid camerawork under John Landis's direction, but criticized the script for being largely nonsensical with significant plot holes that undermined its coherence.^[1] The A.V. Club offered a more scathing assessment, labeling it a "new low" for Landis and faulting its misanthropic tone, repetitive gags like dream-sequence murder fantasies, and underdeveloped, unlikable characters that failed to generate meaningful laughs.^[16] Audience reception mirrored critical sentiments, with common complaints centering on the comedy's inconsistency and shallow character portrayals, contributing to its limited appeal.^[2] Commercially, Susan's Plan generated no box office revenue due to its video-only distribution, though it achieved modest visibility through home video rentals and sales, particularly among fans of Landis's earlier work.^[1] In Landis's filmography, the movie is regarded as a minor and disappointing entry, marking a downturn following his more successful 1980s comedies and underscoring his pivot toward lower-budget, independent-style projects in the late 1990s.^[16]