By Kathleen Murphy
Special to MSN Movies

Hitting movie screens Jan. 18, "Mad Money" showcases a golden threesome of unlikely heist queens: Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes and Diane Keaton. In this comic thriller, mismatched sistas decide to rob the Federal Reserve of greenbacks already earmarked for shredding. Economically strapped, professionally stymied and just plain game for a good time, the heroes in "Money" decide to break out big-time.

Sound like a lighter-hearted version of the adventures of "Thelma & Louise" (1991)? It should: That film won "Money" director Callie Khouri a Best Screenplay Oscar. Back in the day, Ridley Scott's road movie about accidental outlaws (Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis) hit a pop-culture nerve, triggering endless think pieces from feminist types and cautionary essays by the prim and proper.

Might be OK for charming brigands Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Paul Newman, Robert Redford) to shoot up the Old West, then exit via a freeze frame, jumping off a cliff to land God knows where. But should Thelma and Louise get away with having a real good time while giving the finger to a passel of abusive studs — and the law? And weren't these bad girls muscling into the All-Men's Club by climaxing with their own leap of faith into nothingness?

Thelma and Louise and the "Mad Money" ladies come from a fine, old family line of cinematic outlaw queens — rebel sisters who rule, from comedy to film noir, crime-thriller to Western, and by all means grind-house exploitation movies. No matter the genre or budget, there's always been retrograde titillation in watching high-riding women who command the reins in male enclaves get their comeuppance — usually through love, which can trip up the toughest cookie.

Sarandon, left, and Davis in "Thelma & Louise" (MGM/Courtesy the Everett Collection)