Is she some kind of joke or spoof person masquerading as thespian?
It is depressing to think that there is an entire industry of people conspiring to make her a movie star, when she has not a scintilla of charm or talent.
Her team is being paid for its follies. Team leader, father Joe Simpson, is the worst offender, blinded by the paychecks she’s earned singing for all these years. He does not see that as an actor, Simpson is an imposition on our good will and taste.
And now she’s just trying my patience.
This is at best, a mildly amusing indie film interrupted by the appearance of her character that is completely out of context with the setting, tone and meaning. She looks plastic perfect as she delivers ridiculous lines – only one at a time, with the emotional investment of a bowl of stewed prunes.
She smiles, half smiles and looks startled – that is her repertoire. She missed that course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, I guess.
Furthermore, someone like her character Amy, would never work in a big box store, she wouldn’t even know where to find one.
She is supposed to be an ordinary clock puncher? With those looks?
I think not.
Instead, she would be getting her tiny bedazzled dog clipped in Beverly Hills while shopping for something foolish.
Are we supposed to admire Simpson for pretending to be common folk? Well, she doesn’t fool me! I know by looking at a screen if someone has ‘it’, star quality, and talent, we all do. She does not.
Okay she can sing. But NOT act.
The story is fairly low rent. A couple of big box store employees – one a slacker, the other a keener - fall in love with the new cashier and embark on a bruising contest to see who can bed her first. They have it from a good source that she has an eye for employees of the month.
Good start, eh?
The torment and harass one another in an obsessive way that makes us wonder whether it’s for her or ...well, each other. Supposedly funny undertones of homoeroticism, intentional or not, fall flat.
There is one good joke in this timewaster – the boss is Glen Gary, his brother is Glen Ross. That’s a knee slapper, along with the a few references to Reservoir Dogs.
The reliable Andy Dick is funny but his roles to small to save the film.
I kind of like Dax Shepard as the barely controlled store perfectionist. He works hard to make this leaden script come to life through masterful body language and facial expression. Watch for him in some interesting vehicles over the next couple of years, including ‘Smother’ with Diane Keaton and Liv Tyler.
Dane Cook is his archenemy, a likeable loser with no conscience, whose only redeeming feature is that he loves his grandmother. He’s the male lead, but he’s overshadowed by Cook.
Watch for Brain George (Babu Bhatt of Seinfeld) Harland Williams and TV sitcom staple Tim Bagley.
Better yet, take a pass.
Opens wide USA October 6. MPAA: Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, and language.
Your Talkback on this Story