Suckers

Okay - this film starts out really funny, really shocking and really makes you think about what goes on at car dealerships behind closed doors. I have heard most of it is true, but in the last half hour they take a turn and have some gang drug deal infiltrate the car dealership that really makes the term "Hollywood Ending" come to mind. They should not have done that - it completely ruined a great film. Almost reminds you of Stir Crazy going into a prison Rodeo at the end...whatever!

After running across this movie last night late on cable I finally clicked on it. Like most nights on cable there is usually very little to watch that you haven't already seen or are categorically something you simply don't watch ever for any reason. One of my things is that I just cant take movies that are nothing but endless streams of suffering and pain and shootings and car crashings and people who get shot and don't bleed or cry or AND people who are splattered all over the screen. I just don't get all that crap. Life is hard enough, why do you have to absorb angry people on screen doing things that are mean and actually kill and torture others, be it with their words or their actions.

So, with all that said, this movie violates a tiny part of my overall total tiredness with nonsensical violence and extreme horrors being done to others on-screen. It is full of men who are being pretty much nothing but the lowest common denominator, which is simply the law of the jungle, eat or be eaten. But they're doing it in the format of a car lot as salesmen who have created careful scripts for handling customers and driving the customer to give up more than they may have had to if the customer had know the salesman's goal, which is just to get all they can get at all costs. And all costs means simply that being truthful isn't necessary or a reasonable thing for a salesman to do. But on top of that they're being mean to each other. Granted they're learning the hard knocks of that business and finding their way like the members of a pride of lions must find their way when the feeding frenzy begins otherwise they will starve.

And of course these guys are always busy couching everything in terms of being either a person who is a god of maleness who can have whoever he wants any time OR, he must be someone who can easily be pushed over by another man or anyone at all who can then rape him in the anus. Yes, you all know what i'm saying here. They're all full of stupid talk which, ever since Pulp Fiction, its pretty much that same nonsense that was fresh for a couple of years back in the mid nineties. But as this was made in 1998 for a 1999 release I guess we can forgive this tired way of talking on screen (though the guys at Entourage are certainly giving this way of speaking a much needed freshening up and making it fun again these days in 2007).

But, in spite of all this, this movie just just fun to watch. There is truly something going on here that transcends the story of these hungry wolves. It shows us we are all wolves.

And the way it does is to show that the customers aren't stupid either. But they have learned that if a used car saleswolf will behave in a certain way then customers have individually come up with strategies to keep themselves alive when the wolf makes his charge. And these are hilarious. Which make the men hilarious.

What the other people here who have reviewed this movie have noted is that there are some unfortunate (to the movie) side story lines that simply show that the writers here had something great going but didn't know what to do with it, so somebody just decided to send this movie down a tired and well-worn path to make it all end in a way that other movies have done. Most of this movie is fantastic movie making, but the tiredness of the side stories, as tedious and uninspired as they are, still somehow don't take away the joy of watching the majority of this movie.

Though its a bunch of men being mean to each other for the most part, its somehow great. When drug dealers and tired TIRED story lines like that disgrace the writers just realize that these are the moments you can slip away to the bathroom or get a snack. But when all that side crap goes away and the saleslions are taking to the zebra fields, then its great movie making.

If you rent it, I promise you'll be glad you did.

Every so often a low budget indie film comes out that blows away mots of the other dross out there and this is that movie. There are obviously a lot of similarities to glengary glen ross as selling is the focal point here and its cars not houses. Daniel Benzali as Reggie the dealership manager is a riot as the ultimate sell-your-grandma to make a buck maverick salesman His meetings where he explains selling technique to dealers is priceless entertainment and would strike the fear of god into anyone about to purchase a vehicle. There are so many funny lines and situations here where both dealers and customers try to get one over on each other to get the best deal. I didn't really care for the whole drug smuggling plot at the end, for me it detracted from the main point of the movie but I'm guessing as this wasn't a documentary (although it could have been as it was very realistic) the producers felt they needed to make some sort of stylish ending. Oh, and for Lori Loughlin fans, she looked fantastic in this movie.

having been in the car business for several years, yeah OK so most of this is pretty accurate. I've been there done that, and yes i've even done a few sales trainings on what reggie talked about and even done some of the closes and the walk and talk. But the only thing about this movie that was disturbing was the ending. But the whole drug thing is pretty close. But the underlying emotion in this movie is the guilt the new salesman felt. Think about it his little episode, there comes a point (even i had it) that after pulling so much crap that you truly do start to feel a little guilty. However the pretense under which it is done? C'mon "my credit union says that if i buy this car i won't be able to feed my family" Thats a load of S***! His credit union would't give him the money anyways. And any bank would decline the app (unless you jiggy it a little and fudge some things) but credit unions aren't that smart to tell someone what they can and can't do, they just wouldn't do it. But reggie sure came through, is that your name? you own the car, get the f*** out of here. that is the best part!! Kinda reminds me of vegas. "hi i'm the sales manager, other than returning the car, what can i do for you today"

'Write about what you know' is advice given to any wannabe scriptwriter, it was advice followed here, as they used their insider knowledge of the used car business to great effect.

The characters, and situations, revolving around the dealership are great. It is funny, and feels authentic, and you will probably learn a lot.

However, they foolishly decided that people wouldn't just want to watch a movie of this nature, so badly welded on a 'so predictable it hurts', Tarrantino style crime caper. It ruins the pacing and feel of the movie.

Pity. Still worth a viewing though, although it has plenty of ripe language and nudity if you are offended by such things.