Well, Jack and Karen go their separate ways. Karen goes back to busting evildoers, and Jack plots with Buddy and some baddies to take down a multi-millionaire named Dick Ripley (an almost unrecognizable Albert Brooks). Buddy and Jack knew Ripley in prison when the latter, a stand-in for Michael Milken, was in for securities fraud. Jack took care of Ripley when he was in the slammer, but the best Ripley could do when they got out was offer him a job as a uniformed security guard. Pogo stick that. So Jack figures Ripley owes him that glittering treasure of uncut diamonds Ripley keeps somewhere in his Detroit-area mansion. But all of sudden, wait a minute. It's time for a romantic interlude. Jack and Karen run into each other, declare an evening's truce, doff their clothes and try to discover if that night in the trunk was just a fleeting thing.

This is all total silliness, of course. Jennifer Lopez is about as convincing a federal marshal as Bubba Smith is a prima ballerina. Even if you accept her character, it makes not a lick of sense that Karen Sisco would be attracted to Jack Foley, no matter those dimples. And it's even more preposterous that Karen's federal cop dad (Dennis Farina) would keep pushing her toward Jack when the two haven't even met. Then, as we drive toward the climax, we find it awfully puzzling that Ripley would seem to employ a small army of security officers even though absolutely none are ever stationed at or around his ungated home. Isn't that called "asking for it"?

But you know what? None of that matters. Lopez and Clooney click. We do believe the pure physical sizzle they give off. And Frank's script delivers plenty of snap, crackle and pop. It's long been a core premise of Elmore Leonard's work that most criminals are blithering idiots. And for that purpose here, we have Glenn Michaels (Steve Zahn), a stoner crook so stupid he's liable to drown standing out in the rain because it never occurs to him to keep his mouth shut. Glenn's got lots of company in the dimwit department. Maurice Miller (Don Cheadle) is one very bad dude. But when he can't find Ripley's diamonds, Maurice will sure take the time to steal the man's suits. Not that it doesn't irk him when in the very same vein his sidekick, White Boy Bob (Keith Loneker), pauses to loot the millionaire's freezer of some choice cuts of beef. So forget the fact that this whole piece is a crock pot of improbability. It's downright fun, and everybody's in on the joke. A happy ensemble delivers a high energy performance, and we go home with smiles on our faces.