Karl Puschmann is Culture and entertainment writer for the New Zealand Herald. His fascination lies in finding out what drives and inspires creative people.
What can we learn from Netflix’s newest documentary, How to Rob a Bank? Karl Puschmann tunes in to find out.
As the cost of living climbs higher than an extremely determined mountain goat, everyday Kiwis are scrambling to not fall off the fiscal cliff. In such a depressed climate, no survival options are off our barren tables.
This is why I sat down with my trusty notepad and pen and took copious notes while watching Netflix’s new, instructional true crime docoHow to Rob a Bank.
I was ready to learn. I was ready for instruction. I was ready for a career change, one that paid generously. I was ready to get rich, is what I’m saying.
For the most part, How to Rob a Bank makes robbing a bank look pretty easy. Something anyone with enough gumption and access to a prosthetic nose could pull off.
The documentary tells the story of Scott Scurlock, a bank robber who stole millions from Seattle banks during the 90s. He earned both notoriety and the 90s-cool nickname of “Hollywood” thanks to the Matthew McConaughey-esque disguise he’d wear while doing his robbing.
His work uniform consisted of the aforementioned prosthetic nose, a stick-on bushy moustache, aviator sunglasses, a shaggy blonde wig, a sports jacket and an anti-drugs D.A.R.E cap worn with the full power of mocking 90s irony.
Scurlock was inspired to become a bank robber after seeing the 1991 action film Point Break, in which actor Patrick Swayze portrayed Bodhi, a philosophical surfer who committed bank robberies to fund his zen lifestyle. Scurlock mimicked Bodhi’s bank-robbing techniques, almost down to using the same crowd control lines as in the movie.
Like any professional, Scurlock made it look easy. In reality, he and his accomplices would spend months planning each heist, scoping out the bank, charting police patrols of the neighbourhood and planning multiple escape routes. He even had an insider - with the extremely 90s codename of “Mustang” - who would infiltrate banks by getting a job at them.
With his meticulous planning and effortless execution, Hollywood constantly foiled law enforcement. They were constantly one step behind. They couldn’t catch him and had no clue who he was under his elaborate disguise. Hollywood was so slippery and so wise to procedures and routines that the FBI officer assigned to the case thought Hollywood might actually be a policeman.
Scurlock's treehouse in Seattle.
He was laughably wrong. Hollywood was actually a full-on hippie who lived in a treehouse he built high up in the branches of a forest on the outskirts of Seattle. He’d spend his days strolling around naked, chilling with friends, doing drugs and writing in his journal. He gave his ill-gotten money away to friends and charities, spending around US$21,000 a month while continuing to live a relatively simple lifestyle up in the trees. When the money began to run dry, he’d suit up and go and get some more.
He gave police big problems for years. Not just because of his extensive research, but also because his plans were purposefully contradictory to the norm and so unpredictable. For example, one time his getaway van didn’t leave the bank’s parking lot. He just hid inside the parked vehicle until all the responding police units had left and then simply drove away.
It’s a fascinating story and a wild ride. How To Rob a Bank has managed to round up nearly all of the key players for extensive interviews. Even all these decades later, the police officer and FBI officer assigned to the case can barely hide their frustrations regarding how outmanoeuvred they were by Hollywood, but also how their opposite handled the investigation. There is no love lost between these two.
As well as re-enactments and stylised animations of the robberies, the real treasure of the doco is the sheer amount of archival footage. Banks in the 90s had security cameras installed everywhere, so there’s plenty of actual footage of Hollywood committing his crimes. And because Scurlock hung out with hippies, bohemians and artists, there’s also a huge amount of home video footage of him happily, nakedly, living life in his treehouse.
The documentary features stylised animations depicting Scurlock's robberies.
How to Rob a Bank is remarkable. It’s arresting entertainment that is a must-watch. The instructional merit of its title, however, must be called into question. In true Hollywood fashion, Hollywood’s “one last job” really did become the last job.
The documentary’s sobering conclusion is why I immediately threw all my bank-robbing notes into the bin as soon as it finished and went to work this morning instead of fashioning a prosthetic nose and escaping naked into a tree hut.
