The Prime Gig (2000) User Reviews (37)

Have I got a deal for you!

[Junker-2 · 20 June 2002]

As someone who used to work in a telemarketing gig in Las Vegas (two months of my life I would rather forget about), I can tell you that the first half hour of "The Prime Gig" is the most realistic look at telemarketing ever filmed. The look, the feel, the characters and the situations all ring incredibly true.

One of those characters is Penny (Vince Vaughn), the best salesman in this small time operation. He is the typical big fish in the little pool, but the title promises that he will soon achieve the big time. Of course, he does move on to a "prime gig," and this is where the realism of the movie breaks down. But becoming less realistic doesn't mean the movie becomes less engaging. As much as I enjoyed the first 30 minutes, the last hour is pretty powerful itself.

Two things sustain this movie and make well worth watching:

First, the acting. Besides Vaughn the cast includes Ed Harris, Julia Ormond, Wallace Shawn and George Wendt. All are excellent.

Secondly, at the heart of this movie is a morality tale. Director Gregory Mosher has peered into the depths of the American telemarketing industry. He has looked at the small time operations and the prime gigs.

And what he has found is disturbing. He has found a greed that does not care who it hurts. A greed that will rob an elderly woman of her life savings without a second thought. A greed that will rip off employees as easily as customers. The ending of this movie may be predictable, but it is still very powerful.

So while others on this site have bashed this movie, pay them no attention. You will love "The Prime Gig." Trust me! Hey, would I lie to you? Just give me your trust, and I won't let you down!

More than real enough for scam fans!

[yossarian100 · 9/10 · 24 March 2004]

I once worked for an old line telemarketing company. I was the guy who trained sales people, not telemarketers who read scripts. I was also the guy who filled phone dialing consoles with scammers when it came time to bid contracts, scammers being the type of people I could not hire for anything other than contract bids. Scammers are good. If you take a deep breath, they can close a sale on that. So, movies like The Prime Gig and Glengarry Glen Ross are fascinating because, if you pay attention, you'll get to see things that most people never get to see, never mind believe.

The Prime Gig is well done and more than real enough for those who like stories about scams. The acting is good and there's an absence of melodrama. Everything is done straight up. Movies like this are difficult to end but here we are given a real life ending. The ending works. The movie works. I very much enjoyed it.

How come I never heard of this movie?

[inframan · 8/10 · 6 December 2001]

I saw this in the indie channel & it kept my attention all the way, except for the phony love scenes (why does Hollywood always have to make sex look so artificial - doesn't anybody do it out there)? The acting is really terrific, especially Ed Harris & Vince Vaughan. Julia Ormond is OK in a part that looks written for Julianne Moore. The beginning is the best, the middle a bit too set-up, like imitation Mamet, the ending is hopeless. But definitely worth seeing for the acting.

Sign me up

[tomsview · 8/10 · 10 April 2014]

I love movies that feature clever scams. The cycle started with "The Sting" where the audience was no longer in the position of observer but was surprised to find that it had also been conned.

David Mamet has often visited the genre with the clever "House of Games", the intriguing "Homicide", the interesting "The Spanish Prisoner", and the very ordinary "Heist". Ridley Scott does it justice with "Matchstick Men", but not everyone can pull it off as the derivative and self-satisfied "Confidence" demonstrates.

"The Prime Gig" is one that gets it right, and it features Vince Vaughan in a role that stands comparison with his Jeremy Grey in "Wedding Crashers".

The movie takes a look inside the world of telemarketing. Our worst fears about the industry are realised when many of the techniques are revealed. The ethics of the sales people in this movie seem flexible at best or as one of the characters says, "The problem with telemarketing is that it is fundamentally evil because it is set up on selling some people some bulls*#t they don't need".

Pendleton 'Penny' Wise (Vince Vaughan) is a hot telephone sales guy. He shares an apartment with his physically handicapped friend, Joel (Rory Cochrane) who he also supports financially. When his current job ends abruptly, Penny gets the chance to work for Kelly Grant (Ed Harris) - a high end operator who is putting together a sales team, a room, to sell shares in a newly discovered gold mine.

Although Penny is not as overawed by Kelly Grant's reputation as his colleagues, he has a slow start. Finally, Penny gets into his stride and outsells everyone on the team, earning a fortune in commission. However, he complicates his life and compromises his relationship with Joel when he falls for Caitlin (Julia Ormond), Kelly Grant's girlfriend. Although Grant seems to accept the situation, we begin to wonder if Penny has dialled the wrong number.

Ed Harris is superb as usual and Julia Ormond is suitably enigmatic as Caitlin, but this is Vince Vaughan's movie. He lives and breathes his role as Penny. He brings his familiar screen persona to the table - the big, reassuring guy, quick with a one-liner who is not easily fazed. He's the one others look to when things go pear-shaped. However, Vince Vaughan has built a nicely rounded portrayal on that familiar character. Penny does have a conscience, and draws the line at ripping off vulnerable old ladies. He is also loyal to his friends - especially Joel.

The movie ends on a slightly ambiguous note. Although Penny thought he had the answers, he learns some lessons about human nature and human greed including his own.

"The Prime Gig" is a movie that seems to have got lost in the shuffle but it's a great little discovery, and is full of surprises; it's definitely one call worth answering.

A second look at telemarketers.

[dy158 · 7/10 · 29 June 2006]

Telemarketeers...just the sound of it makes some of us cringe because not everyone likes those telemarketers to 'harass' us over the phone over something they want to promote on.

And when moral questions are being raised about what is right and wrong, it has become a grey area. This is where Penny Wise (Vince Vaughn) has to deal with his own conscience.

Scamming people through the phone is what Penny is good at for his job as a telemarketer, and when he was being hired to be part of this million-dollar scam, he was rather being hesitant at first. It's where his conscience starts to collide.

Very interesting and quirky look at telemarketers who scam for the sake of money. Vince Vaughn portrayed it that well.

Guess I will never see those telemarketers the same way again.

It's like a hollowed out jelly doughnut

[MBunge · 5/10 · 28 July 2010]

Imagine eating an Oreo cookie with the cream filling removed or a jelly donut with the jelly sucked out of it. The cookie sides of the Oreo and the donut itself would still be tasty, but you wouldn't be getting what you wanted or expected out of either. The experience would not be unpleasant, just unsatisfying. The Prime Gig is a film where most of the conflict has been extracted. There are still things to enjoy while watching it, but it's a fundamentally boring story.

Penny (Vince Vaughn) is a salesman, currently selling travel packages of dubious legality in a bottom-of-the-barrel telemarketing firm. He's the most successful one in the storefront office, which is a little like being the thinnest fat person at Weight Watchers. The rest of the crew are either desperate losers or bitter malcontents.

When that job goes up in smoke, Penny is recruited to work for Kelly Grant (Ed Harris), a legendary figure of somewhat questionable business practices. Grant claims to have a gold mine worth $30 million and needs Penny and a warehouse full of other phone salespeople to get $2.5 million worth of investors to sign on to the project. Penny thinks it's a scam, even after Grant goes to extravagant lengths to prove otherwise, but doesn't care as long as he gets paid immediately for every sale he makes. The tempting presence of Grant's beautiful associate, Caitlin (Julia Ormond), is also on Penny's mind and other, more southern parts of his anatomy.

While all that's going on, Penny is also trying to help a childhood friend named Joel (Rory Cochrane). Joel is crippled, lazy, pretentious and self-destructive. Why Joel is all of those things and why Penny makes extraordinary efforts to help him is never explained or even hinted at.

After a rough start, Penny begins to rack up sales and boink the hell out of Caitlin. That just goes on for a while, giving Vince Vaughn and Julia Ormond a few decent scenes together and then the story simply swirls down the drain. There's a twist at the end that is pulled off in the most backasswards way imaginable and Penny is left to walk down the sidewalk as the closing credits roll.

As I mentioned earlier, there are some good things in The Prime Gig. Vaughn and Ormond are very engaging. She also shows off a breast, which is greatly appreciated. The crew at the storefront, including Wallace Shawn, George Wendt and Stephen Tobolowsky, are very entertaining in their misery. It's also fun to listen to Penny and the rest of Grant's team try to manipulate people into investing in the supposed gold mine.

All of that is undermined by the tedious lack of conflict in this movie. Some exists at the beginning, where everyone at the storefront is angry with each other and fearful of losing their jobs. It all disappears when Penny joins up with Grant. There's no meaningful conflict between Penny and Grant, Penny and Caitlin, Grant and Caitlin, Penny and the salesman competing with him to be number one, Penny and Joel, Caitlin and Joel or really any other combination of characters. There's a silly attempt late in the film at inner conflict with Penny, but it's so contrived that no one could take it seriously.

The bottom line of The Prime Gig is that you spend the last two-thirds of the movie waiting for anything to happen and nothing does, until something happens at the very end that you knew was going to happen from the first second Kelly Grant was mentioned. This film has a few moments of interest breaking up the dullness, like driving through Nebraska and seeing topless hitchhiker every 150 miles, but unless you've got really long attention span, this movie isn't worth your time.

A tangled web

[iinsic412 · 7/10 · 30 December 2002]

Knowing the subject matter of this film - shilling fraudulent "whatever's" in a boiler room - I assumed it would follow closely in the footsteps of David Mamet's incomparable "Glengarry Glen Ross" (as was the case in the over-hyped and disappointing "Boiler Room"). Almost immediately, however, it becomes apparent that such is not the case. While "GGR" gave us stark images of the salemen's desperation in the context of their work, "Gig" delves completely into the life of Pendleton (Penny) Wise, played by Vince Vaughn. It is in showing the emptiness of his entire existence - and not just his work life - that one can see how susceptible he is to the machinations of the almost mythical Kelly Grant (Ed Harris), and his partner Caitlin Carlson (Julia Ormond). From his shabby apartment to his touching relationship with childhood friend Joel (Rory Cochrane) - who is, in spite of or because of his physical handicap, an even bigger loser than Wise and all of Wise's foundering sales cronies - you know he is destined for littler and worser (hey, if Shakespeare can use it, so can I) things. Wise is, as Grant puts it, "a big fish in a little pond." His ego won't let him believe it, but ultimately experience is a hard teacher. For those who just like Harris' style, you won't be disappointed. And Ormond does manage to sum up far more emotion than she did in the pathetic "Sabrina." But it is Vaughn, as stoic as Sheriff and as cynical as Trent Walker, who draws you into his character and keeps you from guessing too far ahead. The movie is worth watching just for the last five minutes or so, from the time Grant claims, "I'm not a closer" to the rolling credits. You'll think about this one for quite a while after viewing. And that's a good thing.

A mess of a movie

[joelmp · 4/10 · 6 October 2002]

"The Prime Gig" begins promisingly enough as a comedy about telemarketing with wonderful character actors like Wallace Shawn and George Wendt. Vince Vaughn plays the main character, the "star" marketer at a two-bit storefront telemarketing outfit where the crammed in workers have detailed cue cards posted on the walls to help rebut the customers' objections. The movie quickly throws in a sub-plot -- Vaughn cajoles the boss to hire his bitter handicapped friend. And then, fifteen minutes in, the movie switches gears completely. The first shop closes up, and Shawn, Wendt, et al are never seen again. Instead, we get a corporate expose about a high roller operator (Ed Harris)putting together a team to sell multi-thousand dollar shares in a purported gold mine. Vaughn is skeptical, but is enticed by the prospect of big money, and his attraction for Harris' protege, the beautiful Julia Ormond. The rest of the film alternates between the Vaughn-Ormond tryst, the high pressure goings on at the telemarketing office, and an occasional foray back to the relationship of Vaughn and his handicapped friend. None of the pieces add up. The ending is forced and almost unbelievable in terms of the character development that preceded it. The acting is fine, but wasted. This is a case where the parts are better than the whole.

I liked it enough

[thispainsme · 24 June 2002]

I had no idea what to expect from this movie. It just happened to be on cable and Vince was in it, so I watched.

I liked the portrayal of each character in this film. Greed, desperation, betrayal...I found myself disgusted with some of the characters, mainly Julia Ormond and Ed Harris. I can't stand Julia Ormond so to watch her as a conniving shrew was quite satisfying. If you can't stomach the dark underbelly of human behavior,and watching how bad someone can screw over another person, than this film's not for you. At the end I found myself bummed out - but that's not necessarily so bad. You need to be in the right mood to watch this. It's low-key, though not boring and definitely not a 'feel good' film. I can understand how some people didn't like it, but I think Vince Vaughn fans will be happy enough (I'm one myself).

Ok movie, but nothing spectacular

[LebowskiT1000 · 7/10 · 24 March 2002]

This is a tough one because I can't really call it a bad movie and it wasn't a great movie, it has a pretty interesting story and a lot of cool stuff in it, but it's REALLY SLOW!!! I kept hoping it would pick up the pace a little, but I was let down, it's VERY slow. This movie reminded me a lot of "Boiler Room", which I thought was a much better film, so I'd probably recommend seeing that one instead of "The Prime Gig", but don't get me wrong "The Prime Gig" was ok in it's own right. But of course if you are a die-hard Vince Vaughn/Ed Harris/Julia Ormond fan, then by all means, see "The Prime Gig".

The film had some very good acting on all accounts, and like I said earlier, a somewhat interesting story-line. In all honesty, I would put this one off till you have some time to kill, I wouldn't rush out and rent it. But ya know, do what you will. Thanks for reading,

-Chris

Nothing to recommend this movie

[DRomm · 2/10 · 13 December 2002]

No great lines, no memorable scenes (okay, maybe one with the

old lady near the end), no interesting twists of fate, no comments

on the human condition. A downer of movie, with unrelentingly

unpleasant people being unrelentingly unpleasant. You never get

to know any of the people or find out their motivations; just as well.

If you're going to rip off David Mamet, you should at least have a

real nude scene, not just some steamy pillow talk.

Some decent acting (notably Ed Harris) and okay cinematography

saved The Prime Gig from oblivion, but I could give it no higher

than a 2.

Vince Vaughn's great and rarely seen performance

[MovieCriticMarvelfan · 25 June 2004]

This is a great movie with a great cast however Vince Vaughn gives perhaps his best dramatic performance to date. Unlike Will Ferrel, Vaughn can do both comedy and drama.

This is a great movie thats shows us the real sleazy and corrupt world of telemarketing. In fact if your a telemarketer watching this film , youll probably be mad since it exposed your corrupt jobs!! lol

Vaughn plays Penny Wise, a small but great telemarketer who knows how to con people into making sales for his cheap company.

Eventually a bigger telemarketing scheme headed by the character of Ed Harris wants to use Penny's "skills" in this area to pull of a Million Dollar scam.

Meanwhile Penny's friend is out of work and relies on him for support.

Penny is caught in a corner, work with this rich white scoundrels to steal millions and sell his soul to the devil , so to speak, or do the right thing?

This a great movie about moral dilemna and what you really do if you really had to put your money where your mouth and live up to your own idealogies.

All the performances are great and the movie, doesn't really tell you what Penny's "final decision" will be until the 10 minutes he "goes along" with the scam and looks like he will do it with the rest of them.

Highly recommended.

Ending killed the movie

[Snuffmonk · 11 November 2002]

I love watching movies. I work for blockbuster for God's sakes....I watch movies all the time. I thought this movie had a good premise and that the actiing was fine(although not stellar). The thing that bothers me about this movie was the ending...it left too many unanswered questions....to many unknowns....It is good for a bored night when u don't have anything else to do but don't ask questions after it's over because they will be unanswered and unknown...big dissappointment. Overall decent movie but not great. if you can see it for free like I did...it's not a bad way to spend an hour and a half if not...wait till it comes on cable

Selling on the Phone

[whpratt1 · 6/10 · 20 July 2006]

Vince Vaughn,(Pendelton(Penny)Wise), "The Break Up",'06, plays the role of a guy who is a super salesman on the telephone,(Tel-Marketer) who is working in a flea bag of a business with all kinds of weird gals and guys and then all of a sudden he meets up with Julia Ormond,(Caitlin Carlson, "Resistance",'03. Caitlin works for another outfit called Kelly Grant and offers Penny an opportunity to work for her company. The boss of Kelly Grant is Ed Harris,(Kelly Grant),"Dirt Nap",'05, gives Penny an interview and decides to hire him. There is a burned out relationship between Caitlin and Kelly, however, Caitliin and Penny begin to set the bed sheets a fire and are constantly in heat. Great film, with a very surprising ending and a film very worth viewing.

The real deal

[=G= · 6/10 · 12 December 2001]

"The Prime Gig" tells of a small time boiler room pitchman (Vaughn) who goes to work for a master telemarketer and scam artist (Harris) and his girlfriend (Ormond). The film is an earnest slice-of-life indie drama which emphasizes character depth over plot with Vaughn at the center as a man in conflict with morality and the demands of his job. Not a "feel good" flick, "Prime Gig" will appeal most to those who appreciate reality over melodrama and sensationalism. Good stuff with limited appeal.

...but if you are bored...

[letsleepndogslie · 7 August 2002]

My better half raved about this...'a must see.' I can only say it left me with many unanswered questions. The relationship between Penny and Joel, now that was rather unusual,it didn't seem well developed or explained. I kept waiting for something meatier, but that never came. The acting, as a whole, was creditable, though not stellar. Ed Harris, as usual, gives a star-winning performance, albeit, a rather smallish part. Vince, is, well, Vince. Ms Ormond did okay...I suggest she start taking better care of her skin...looks dry! It is so typical of so many 'other' movies out today...the plot is seen coming a mile away...no real surprises...with one exception: "spoiler:"...when Penny is speaking with Evelyn on the phone and visualizes them actually speaking in person...that made this movie worth watching...what a neat idea...that was great. The ending left me with a great big "?"...did I miss something??? Maybe I just wanted a little more...all in all, it's okay...not great by any stretch of the imagination...but if you are bored...rent it.

A Conversation with the Devil

[ctodd1000 · 10/10 · 8 June 2003]

Prime Gig, The (2000)

A Conversation with the Devil

This film has EVERYTHING to recommend it, and is one of the most thought-provoking films I've seen in a long time.

With a careful viewing and attention to the dialogue, much can be learned here. In fact, I will need to watch it a number of times, as there is so much there... just "skimming the surface" or bubbling beneath. I wish I could read the dialogue in script form, as it has so much power. Obviously, much attention was paid to the writing of it.

This film is truly "A Conversation with the Devil," with an angel at hand... There are so many pointers, yet they are easy to miss... He knows just what your weaknesses are, and plays only to that. Does he succeed in the end?

One on-screen example that comes to mind, is something to the effect of (paraphrasing here), spoken by Ed Harris, as the Top Dog:

"I watch TV, not for the shows, but for the ads: the ads are the Truth. I know what you feel, watching all those things you don't have (the fancy watch, the expensive car) and I know how worthless it makes you feel... And I never knew how easy it is to find Peace.

Remember Christmas, what was the thing that gave you the most pleasure? Not the bike you got for Christmas or for Hanukah; not the gifts you received, but the Frisbee you bought for your brother and the look on his face when he opened it. That's what you remember."

Another scene has our scammer asking for `The Truth,' and in response he is told:

`She trusts you. Don't disappoint her' and leaves the final decision and `fact-finding mission' up to him. What does he do? Does he trust his `instinct' that he stated at the start? This determines the outcome to our fallen hero, does it not?

The Devil never lies to anyone; he just twists or leaves out all of the truth. This is an amazing display for which everyone involved falls for, just like we all do in real life. Yet would `love' make a difference in this world we see on the screen, which is a reflection of the world that we create. We don't know what difference an `expression of real love' would have made, but are left to wonder and perhaps to `try again next time.'

How to trust, what to trust, who to trust? What is Real and What is False, and What Difference Does It Make in the End? These are the BIg Questions here.

The Devil gives many, many examples of "trust" when he falls off the back hoe into the telemarketers arms; he has "set the stage" perfectly for the things to come, where nothing is as it seems to be. Just how the Devil operates here. And all are tested; how far will they go in their treatment of others, and this determines their own "reward" or their own fate, it seems.

We start out with a scammer, who ultimately gets scammed. This scammer has a good side (as do we all?) in that he takes care of a childhood friend who is crippled, and we see the loneliness and heartbreak he goes through as he 'enables" and "cares for" this physically helpless friend. But does his friend take advantage of him; does he take advantage of others, does he ever feel "love" for anyone else?

He wants the gorgeous girl (played by one of my favorite actresses, Julia Ormond), but when he "has her," what does he do? Would she have acted the way she did, in the end, if he had acted differently?

Smashing performance from Ed Harris, as the resident "Big Dog" devil. I'll watch anything with Harris in it; in his "later years" he is becoming the Clark Gable / Cary Grant of our generation, able to play good guys and bad.

Vince Vaughn plays this character perfectly, and my estimation of him has also risen many notches. Will be looking for more work from him.

The rest of the cast were perfect (especially the "lead salesman" who says "this is MY house!") as was the dialogue and direction of this `low -life - low-key" REAL LIFE film. No "blockbuster easy-ending" here; we wander through the world on this incredible journey, looking for love, looking for love, looking for security; we wander through the maze and get blown away at the end. Just like in our own lives, at the end of the days.

Money is the Root of All.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 4 February 2007]

Ed Harris, freshly out of the slams, hires a bunch of telemarketers to make cold calls and sell a gold mine. Julia Ormond, his girl friend, is his right-hand woman. Vince Vaughn is the most hard-headed and cynical of the hired salesmen. Harris tells Vaughn and the rest that this is not a scam. That he truly believes in this venture, that they will all make a lot of money and will do good while amassing their fortunes. As in much of life, these windy promises with their pellucid purity, turn out to be part of a mega-scam and everyone winds up sucking wind except Harris and Ormond. Vaughn winds up sadder -- and certainly broker -- but not necessarily wiser.

This conspectus, I realize, makes the film sound like a poor man's independent production of "Glenngary Glenn Ross," and it is. It could have been written by David Mammon himself. I mean Mamet.

Actually this is a good film, nicely done in every respect. The script especially is a winner through and through.

Inquiring about a new job, an applicant asks, "Are there benefits?" "Yeah, you get to eat and pay the rent." A caller is being turned down by a potential customer and hollers into the phone, "**** you, you dried-up old bag. I hope the cancer kills you!" "GENE!", his boss shouts in alarm. "Okay, okay," Gene continues reasonably into the phone, "I was just kidding. But listen, suppose the cancer does spread and kill you, and you've never been to Hawaii. How's THAT going to make you feel?" The boss advises another recruit, "It's a bad idea to greet your customer by asking, 'Are you high?'" When Vaughn quizzes Harris about the job, he demands daily cash payments. "Okay," says Harris, "you got it, but instead of 20 percent it's 17 percent because it's a pain in the ass for book keeping." A less thoughtful and realistic script, sticking to the bare conventions, would not have added that final fillip.

All the characters are surprisingly well fleshed out, and the direction is functional without being in any way splashy or full of self display.

There is no Big Message behind the film, unless you want to get into something too chiliastic for human consumption, but it's well worth watching, amusing and instructive.

Surprise Surprise Ending for Sure

[zach77 · 8/10 · 15 August 2002]

Very good character development and actual good acting from Vaughn. Without spoiling anything, lets just say the movie blew me away. Not 'Reservoir Dogs' blow me away like in certain scenes, but it certainly laid it on kind of thick.

You're kept wondering about that 'angle' :P

If you liked Glengary Glen ross, then this is your take :)

Excellent film, and excellent actors: The Prime Gig is sure to stun you til' the very end!

[n8gray315 · 9/10 · 15 July 2003]

The film "The Prime Gig" is sure to stun you throughout it's ensemble of "prime" casting, and "prime" story line. In this film, Vince Vaughn plays Penny, an aspiring man that wishes to hit it big with a well known man in the telemarketing world, named Kelly Grant. He finally snags the gold, and promises to himself that he "wants to make money." What Penny doesn't know is that his affair with Kelly's assistant and former lover could and will turn for the worse and bring his life to a stand still. For any Vince Vaughn fans this flick is a must, and for movie-goers period it is a jaw dropper with its fantastic, twisting, "prime" ending! It will definately leave you with a "whoa"! I gave this movie a 9 out of 10. Buy the DVD! -n8gray315

Vaughn rocks...

[MarieGabrielle · 8/10 · 18 February 2007]

And this is his genre!. He portrays Penny Wise, a guy just trying to pay his rent in southern California. Sales and corruption; yes we may have seen some of this before, but you will get a few original lines, and Vaughn is excellent.

Ed Harris as the telemarketing felon, running a "room" has the whole scenario set up. Vaughn, Stephen Tobolowsky, Wallace Shawn, George Wendt and a few other choice character actors set the stage for disenfranchised sales people in Southern California. While the theme is familiar, the actors add that ambiance and feeling of job insecurity.

If you liked "Office Space"; "Glengarry, Glen Ross", you will enjoy this. Worth more than one viewing, and highly recommended!. 8/10.

A poor man's Boiler Room...

[mrlongshot007 · 5 June 2002]

This movie was total crap. I am quite embarrassed that there is record of me having rented this film. I'm a really big fan of Vince Vaughn, but a 5 minute scene of him posing is not exactly what I'd call 'entertaining.' The dialogue was very noticeably forced, and I can actually list porn films with a more intriguing plot than "Let's take Boiler Room, strip it of all interesting characters, remove any semblance of a plot, and film THAT." If you're interested in Julia Ormond love scenes, or have some kind of obsession with that odd kid from Empire Records, this film is for you, but otherwise I suggest consuming a large quantity of painkillers before watching this drivel.

Unflinching Look At Life Of Seamy Characters

[jehaccess6 · 7/10 · 10 May 2008]

I bought the DVD for Julia Ormond. She played a really rotten character in this film, in contrast to her other efforts. I had never heard of Vince Vaughn before, I thought his performance was adequate.

This film is like something from an art-house. No attempt to have a hero or uplifting theme. The whole focus is on a group of very nasty people who never hesitate to turn on each other.

Other comments have noted the wordplay involved in the main character's name 'Penny Wise'. It must have been an inside joke for the screen writers to lighten their gloomy script.

The whole premise of the film left me somewhat confused. The Ed Harris character "Kelly Grant' is fresh out of jail and setting up a new operation in secret. He has to spend a lot of money to equip his new effort. First, he must sell himself as credible to his scammer crew. He flies them to a purported goldmine and equips his boiler room with lots of expensive computer equipment. Then he passes out rolls of cash to the successful scammers. That he can front such an expensive operation fresh out of prison seems incredible.

Then there is Julia Ormond's character 'Caitlin Carlson', 'Kelly Grant's' mistress and business partner. What was she up to while her man was in prison? She claims to be seeking a green card to stay in the USA, was she cooling her heels in Britain during 'Kelly Grant's' prison sentence? 'Caitlin' hooks up with 'Penny', initially one of the least successful scammers. She was such a mercenary character, that should have set off alarm bells in 'Penny's' brain.

The ending left me confused. 'Caitlin' has drained 'Penny's' bank account and skipped out. The boiler room has been cleaned out overnight and 'Kelly Grant' is nowhere around to pay his scammers their commissions on investments in the worthless gold mine. Did 'Caitlin' and 'Kelly' leave together or did 'Caitlin' take the money and move on free of 'Kelly'?

'Kelly Grant' had to realize that word of his betrayal of his scammer employees would leak out. No one would ever work for him again. He could only hope to get enough money from this operation to afford to retire permanently from scamming. This film never addressed what happened in this regard.

Real life is full of unanswered questions. So is this film. Perhaps, we are not seeking too much reality in our entertainment. Still, looking at the bleak personal lives of these characters, I feel grateful that I lead a normal life, the kind of people these scammers attempt to prey upon. In the end, all their schemes leave the scammers worse off than their victims.

Minor-league, Mamet-style study, well-played with a welcome ambiguity that works in it's favor.

[TheVid · 1 April 2003]

This film about a cocky down-and-outer is sharp and detailed in it's intention, while maintaining an oblique view of the circumstances surrounding the main plotline about a sales scam, which is the least interesting aspect of the scenario. An uncommonly perceptive film about working for a living and living on the edge.

Any dramatic film where the plot is about money...

[AnonII · 6/10 · 17 June 2002]

...and the protagonist's name is "Penny Wise," should be avoided. Make that banned. As in "Bandon DeRun," for the hero of a rock film. Or, "Hi Nune" for a western. Or...you get the idea. This movie is about telephone scams, this review is about movie scams. Viewer Beware!