Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

There is only one main character in Twenty Bucks. Since we're never given a name, for the sake of this review, I shall refer to the main character as Jackson. The entire movie is centered around Jackson's life. Supporting characters are only seen briefly, some only for a single scene, as Jackson moves around a lot. In fact, Jackson has brief interactions with so many people throughout the movie, it's hard to keep all the other characters straight.

Basic Plot

We first meet Jackson outside a bank. Initially taken in by a homeless woman, Jackson is quickly snatched by a teenager and brought to a local bakery. The baker is designing a gorgeous wedding cake. Jackson ends up leaving with the father of the bride, and is subsequently passed off to the future groom (Brendan Fraser). At the groom's bachelor party, Jackson gets to keep company with the stripper. The stripper is tossed out of the party, when the future bride shows up unexpectedly. The stripper and Jackson quickly part company, and Jackson is next involved with a professional thief, played by Christopher Lloyd.

The rest of the movie continues in the same vein, following as Jackson moves around a lot, taking up with various other characters. At one point, Jackson spends some time in a prison (with William H. Macy). At another point, Jackson keeps company with a neurotic entrepreneur and his wannabe-writer girlfriend (David Schwimmer and Elisabeth Shue).

A few of the supporting characters show up more than once, as chance encounters bring them back into Jackson's company multiple times. And occasionally they get to interact with each other, even though they don't realize they have in common a past encounter with Jackson. But most of the characters enter Jackson's life, and leave just a short time later, never to be around Jackson ever again.

So Just Who Is This Jackson??

Well, it's more like a "what" than a "who".

Jackson is a $20 bill.

That's right, this whole movie follows a $20 bill from its "birth" (at the ATM machine) to its eventual "death". Along the way, we see tiny little snippets of many life stories, as the bill is passed around.

By the way, did you get my little joke about the name? "Jackson", as in Andrew Jackson, on the $20 bill.


The concept interested me from the start. It's amazing to think how many lives a single piece of currency can touch.

I liked the fact that the supporting characters occasionally interacted with each other. I also liked that although we're given only small glimpses into their lives, nothing is ever left hanging. We eventually find out what happened to the bride & groom after the bachelor party was busted. We find out what happens to the homeless woman from whom the bill was snatched early on.

With many, many other little stories besides the few I described in this review, by the time the movie's over, you feel like you have watched 20 short stories, instead of one movie.

I was not bored for a moment, as I watched all the stories unfold, and eventually conclude.

I will point out that there were a few characters and stories that I could have skipped.  With so many little stories, it's no surprise that not all of them were my cup of tea.  Still, the bulk of the stories were delightful.

Overall Impression

This is an interesting movie, with a great concept. Following Jackson around, you get a glimpse of such an interesting cross section of society. While some will walk away from this movie scratching their heads wondering what it was all about, I found it enjoyable, and a very refreshing change of pace.

Recommended: Yes