Every Heist Movie Reference in Poker Face’s “One Last Job” Explained

In this week's episode of Peacock's Poker Face, “One Last Job,” aspiring screenwriter Kendall Hines (Sam Richardson) tries to out smart Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) in the ways of the cinematic twist, but Charlie calls "bulls—t."

For those who savor the heist genre, Kendall’s script and his subsequent coverup of the robbery that he helps enable, is chock full of clever references and even some direct homages executed beautifully by executive producer/director Adam Arkin. 

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Did you catch the films peppered throughout “One Last Job”? In case you were too busy swooning over the chemistry between Charlie and Bill Jackson (Corey Hawkins), we totally get that there were some lovely distractions, but NBC Insider has you covered below.

All of the heist film references in Poker Face, Season 2, Episode 7: “One Last Job"

Inside Man (2006), Directed by Spike Lee

In the prologue of the episode, when Bill and Kendall are discussing his latest script — “One Last Job” — Bill is effusive about how great the script is. As he critiques it, Bill specifically says it evoked the intensity of heist classics, Heat, Ocean’s 11, and Inside Man. And then later in the episode, when we see Kendall’s apartment, he’s got an Inside Man poster hanging right above his recliner. 

Ocean’s 11 (2001), Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Director Steven Soderbergh’s sexy and slick 2001 remake of director Lewis Milestone’s Ocean’s 11 "rat pack" vehicle is the rare instance of a remake that’s even better than the original. Kendall must agree too, because he’s got a one-sheet movie poster right in his media room. 

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Mission Impossible 3 (2006), Directed by J.J. Abrams

There’s a running joke in the episode around Kendall’s first meeting with Charlie, and his film nerd impulse to find out all about her assessment of the best Mission Impossible film. Clearly she’s not in agreement with his love of the franchise, but she doesn’t want to lose his counsel on getting Bill an appropriate gift. So, she plays along and says, “Mission Impossible…?” He approves.

Later on in the episode, the assessment comes back up again where a cop weighs in that Mission Impossible 3 is the best of the series. 

Die Hard (1996), Directed by John McTiernan

During Bill and Charlie’s charming rom-com worthy date inside the big box store that he manages, Kendall comes up in their comfortable banter. Bill speaks fondly of his friend’s talent and his slightly annoying obsession with film debates. He cites their disagreement over what qualifies as a Christmas movie, Bill says that Kendall disavows Die Hard in that category because it doesn’t explicitly feature the real Santa in the movie. 

Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), Directed by Quentin Tarantino

A very subtle reference in the episode is how Juice (James Ransone), the burglar who kills Bill, gets skewered with a samuari sword by Kendall. It’s very clearly an allusion to The Bride’s (Uma Thurman’s) weapon of choice in the Kill Bill films. In particular, we saw some California Mountain Snake (Daryl Hannah) style violence and comedy in how Juice staggers through the store with the sword sticking out of him.

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Heat (1995), Directed by Michael Mann

For many, including Kendall, the epitome of heist cinema is Michael Mann’s Heat. The classic which starred Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, and Val Kilmer is featured no less than three separate times in the episode: once on the bar’s TV, when Kendall screens it for Juice, and it literally closes out the episode on the box store TVs. 

New episodes of Poker Face debut Thursdays on Peacock; head there now to catch “One Last Job" and the rest of the show's previously aired Season 1 and 2 episodes!