Chump Change

Steve Burrows is a great story teller, comedian, author, writer, producer, director. I got to meet and know Steve while he was deciding to film about 1/3 of this movie in Wisconsin (the rest takes place in Los Angeles).

A hilarious rags to riches to rags story, it stars Steve actor in a semi-autobiographical film. Steve's been out in L.A. for over 10 years, and he's been able to get at least 15 named/known Talent to take part in this film, including: Abe Vigoda, Jerry and Mira Stiller,Clancy Brown, and Traci Lords (yes THE Traci Lords). Traci co-stars as a frumpy Wisconsinite in the Milwaukee area in the middle of winter, who wears big sweaters, mucklucks, and a tuke on her noggin. Although she portrays a bitter single woman, Steve charms her with his sad sack stories, discovers she has a heart of gold, and wins her over in the end of the film. Traci Lords has got great acting ability, and I'm glad to see her make the transition to feature films.

This film is filled with classic one liners (Arbys: Where the meats so shiny you can see yourself!), hilarious riffs on the LA film scene (Clancy Brown as the acting coach), and is a true testament that an indie actor/film maker from Wisconsin (Burrows)can make it out in Hollywood. Way to Go Steve! Let's see this soon at the Multiplexes, DVD, or on cable!

This quaint period piece by Steven Burrows is peppered with captivating moments. I suppose it doesn't help in writing this, that the screening I experienced took place at the first Milwaukee International Film Festival to a sold out house of Steven Burrows fans. The spirit of the screening was captivating. Comic self-deprecation flows through the script, however, welcome to Wisconsin! We were rolling in the aisles. Enjoy!

Milwaukeean Steve Burrows (actually from the southern suburb Greendale) tries to make it in Hollywood and "fails" but Milwaukee gets its revenge in this scathing satire of the movie-making biz. It's too funny! As in, "my god, Steve, you're just too funny!" Those who saw "Chump Change" or have heard Steve comment on it will know what I mean. Also, don't forget: in order to succeed, you have to make the producer's penis twitch. "Don't ask me why!" Lots of great cameos from minor stars old and younger. Ann Meara probably has the single funniest line in the movie. I won't spoil it for you but it's her first line. Well, at least it was funny to this raised-and-still-living-in-Milwaukee reviewer. Too bad, it never saw the light of day on the big screen except at the Milwaukee Film Festival in Nov 2003. It was made in 2000, I believe. Judging from all the Milwaukee-shot scenes, it must have been during the record-setting month of December. At any rate, the movie is available from Miramax video. Buy it, already!

I saw the film at the Wisconsin Film Festival in Madison. I had to see it again at the next showing as I missed so much of it while laughing my butt off through the first sceening. I loved the the comedy skits, the script rewriting hell and the Wisconsin scenes. This is one not to be missed. The whole cast is first rate, hillarious!!!

In a comedy based on the writer-director Stephen Burrows' own experiences in the film industry, Burrows himself plays Steve, an aspiring actor and screenwriter who moves back to his childhood home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin after a less than successful career in Hollywood. There he finds a spunky young woman Sam (Traci Lords) renting the house and starts recounting his experiences to her, shown to us in lengthy flashbacks.

The Hollywood scenes are fairly funny with many references to real-life actors and movies. The numerous agents and managers Steve has to meet are particularly crazy, especially Simon 'Sez' Simone (Tim Matheson) with his bizarre and self-contradicting rants about what a movie should and should not be. The industry is presented as a completely impossible working environment, with orders and notes pouring in from every direction to confuse the poor writer who is just trying to do what he's told. There are also funny scenes poking fun at amateur acting classes, poor sketch comedy shows and the unconventional and unpredictable lifestyles of bigwig producers and their entourages.

Even though the hectic pacing and jumping between the Hollywood and Milwaukee scenes may look a bit annoying to some, at the end of the day there's a lot to like in Chump Change. The lead character Steve is very likable and sympathetic and the wintery Wisconsin infrastructure looks cozy and suits the theme of the story very well. Traci Lords may not be the cutest love interest in the history of romantic cinema, but she handles the role well enough. The most fun comes in the form of the many supporting characters though, making the movie well worth seeing to anyone interested in the behind-the-scenes life of film industry.