The film follows the story of two women living in London, Shannon and Frances, attempting to con a group of gangsters, led by Kerrigan and Mason, into giving them £1,000,000 after they overhear a conversation between gang members during a local bank heist. The idea is that the money will later be used to purchase a large amount of expensive medical equipment for the hospital where Shannon works as an overworked and underpaid nurse. Frances, a failing American actress who has resorted to doing voice acting for children's cartoons, wants the money so that she can get out of the rut she believes she is stuck in, and also because she wants a Mercedes to replace her aging Pontiac Firebird. Throughout the course of the film, the women threaten the mobsters in order to persuade them to give them a cut of the heist money. As the film progresses, the danger the women are in becomes more obvious, and just as it appears that they are out of their depth - Frances' car is blown up and Shannon is almost kidnapped - they successfully break into Mason's house and confront him and one of his gang. A mass shoot-out occurs after it becomes clear that the girls have stolen all of Mason's guns and have bagged all the money. They manage to get away in the gang members' Porsche Boxster with the bags of money. The hospital equipment is delivered to Shannon's hospital anonymously, as Shannon and Frances look on. They then drive off into London in the Mercedes CLK that they have bought with some of the money, happy that they have done the right thing.
The film earned negative reviews from critics, as it holds a rating of 20% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Home media
In the United States, Buena Vista released High Heels and Low Lives on DVD on 9 April 2002, while Mill Creek Entertainment later acquired home distribution rights, releasing the film on 15 March 2016, as part of a "Pretty Dumb Criminals: Triple Felony Feature". In the United Kingdom, the film was made available on both VHS and DVD formats on 13 May 2002 via Buena Vista Home Entertainment. Buena Vista also handled distribution rights in Australia, when the film was made available on DVD on 21 August 2002. On 15 August 2018, it was announced that High Heels and Low Lifes will be available for the first time ever on Blu-ray on 23 October 2018, as distribution rights are currently owned by Kino Lorber within the United States. An additional DVD release will also be available from Kino Lorber.
