Chump Change

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.

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!

This movie blew me away. I had no idea it was going to be this funny. My roomate recently bought it because he knew someone who was in it. I knew nothing about the movie. One night I was bored- by myself and thought I would check it out. I laughed...and laughed...and laughed. Seriously, it was almost too funny. You go back and forth from Wisconsin and L.A. The Wisconsin parts give you a few breaks from the funny but the L.A. stuff makes me pee my pants. T. Mathheson is the bomb. He's incredible. If half the stuff stephen burrows wrote is true then that guy had one hell of an expereince in L.A. Did I mention it is based on a true story. Traci Lords is in it. I've seen other movies with her, but none where she kept her clothes on. She actually rocks as an actress. I wish her the best. Folks, this is a must see.

I just saw this movie today at the Phoenix Film Festival, and it was one of the best films featured. This was a hilarious movie, well written and well-acted. This film featured Jerry Stiller, Abe Vigoda, Tim Matheson, Anne Meara, and the writer director himself, Steven Burrows. He got up after the movie, and did a nice Q&A session, and explained that the movie was semi-autobiographical in nature. This movie was a great jab at the machine known as Hollywood, where movies deals are made without even a story or script!! Look for Traci Lords as well, in a great performance as a character nothing like some of her previous films(Cry-Baby comes to mind.). I also heard that this movie may just be making it to a theatre near you someday soon!!!

The movie see-saws uncomfortably between two almost unrelated stories. Frequent use of narration attempts to cover the fact that there simply isn't enough material here for either a Hollywood farce, or a Milwaukee, sweet girl meets boy tale. The cameo's are rather tepid, especially Jerry Stiller, who nevertheless is highlighted on the DVD cover. The Hollywood half would probably be mildly amusing to someone working in the entertainment industry, while a general audience will be unamused by all the inside jokes. The Milwaukee half revolves around neighborhood bars, quirky menus, and outdated attractions. The acting is fine, especially by Tim Matheson and Tracy Lords, but in the end this is a very average movie, and nothing more. - MERK