Stress point. This film based on a critically acclaimed play is one of the most real films I have ever seen. It shows the underbelly of who we are as people but do not want to admit. To see this film is to see the death of us all as we slowly degrade from smart ass young men into middle aged denial and finally , fossilized fools.
Regardless of whether you are an actual 'used vacuum ' salesmen or we work in a hospital, we are all salespeople to someone and something. All of us play angles and shovel small talk each and every day. As we see the bull crap flying out of these guys mouths, we comfort ourselves that the vulgarity separates us from them and thus we aren't as bad as these guys. Its not about vulgarity or being a salesman. Its about stress. The film holds up a mirror of ourselves under enormous stress and we thank god we very rarely are.
The plot in this script is the weakest part. Its too simplistic and shouldn't be able to carry an entire film. Its basically a bunch of guys in a lousy job whose life gets worse to the point of desperation. Each man deals with it in their own way. Just like each on of us deals with our own world , in our own version of heaven or hell, depending on how we view our lives.
In this case, these men's lives are versions of hell. Each one is at loathe with themselves and therefore blames everyone and everything around them for their plight. One of them states he wont live in hell of earth, but even he disintegrates into a childish brat whose personal character is nothing like the image he tries to portray.
The acting is the movie. It is unbelievably good. Both Alex Baldwin and Jack Lemmon give scenes that rival any they have had in their careers. Al Pacino has been so good in so many movies I cannot tell how good he was in this movie. He was good but by his standards I don't know.
Alan Arkin drew the short straw when it came to casting. He had the part of a lovable loser who everyone likes but nobody respects. The most despicable character (besides Baldwin) belongs to Ed Harris. He is brilliant but a bit too loud as David Moss , who is ambitious , frustrated and fed up. But he is no fool.
The lucky part goes to Kevin Spacey, who was jumping up and down with utter delight to be selected to be on the same screen as his hero Lemmon , and be considered at such a young age to be able to hold his own with some of the greatest character actors in Hollywood history. It must of rubbed off on young Spacey, as his mediocre performance in this film would springboard into academy award winning roles in several films after wards, making himself into an acting legend in his own right.
Unlike most of Hollywood, this film has no hero, no real villain and no justice in the end. Its what we see every day. Ordinary people wishing they were somewhere else and someone else. Regular folks making bad decisions, and wallowing in the consequences. The movie left me feeling so much gratitude for the little integrity I was lucky enough to maintain in my own life.