Free Samples

This is one of those indie type films I'm actually glad I watched. It's very quirky, and had those moments that made you stop and think. When it started, I had my doubts, but Jesse Eisenberg helped pull me into the story. It's also got some 'laugh out Ioud' moments and some 'laugh out loud about a minute later' moments when you actually process the hilarity of some of the dialogue. The cast is cool.I love the emergence of Jason Ritter, I think he's more talented than people give him credit for. I enjoyed seeing Jesse Eisenberg in a different type role and seeing Tippi Hedren in it was pretty cool too. There was one scene where I thought the comedy didn't work very well, but that's typical of most movies, I guess. Gammill and Beggarly make a good team, not sure if they're working on other stuff together, but there's definitely a market for these types of movies.

Jillian (Jess Weixler) has left Stanford law school and her boyfriend for a semester to try something new. Only she's no good at anything other than drinking. After a night of passout drinking, she has to give out free samples of ice cream from a food truck for a friend who is joining an intervention for her brother. She faces people with her acerbic wit and her pounding hangover.

I love Jess Weixler's sardonic personality. And it works great especially in the first half with Jason Ritter. They have a fun combative conversation. It's not so much with Jesse Eisenberg. She has more chemistry with Ritter.

The last half does stumble a little bit. Tippi Hedren is playing an interesting character but it's just too cliché. And when school friend Paula drops by, it hits that speed bump a little too hard. For that kind of coincidence, it could never maintain any believability.

It's kind of the female version of clerks! Jillian spends the day filling in for a friend. She hands out free samples of some mysterious food, which may or may not be made of dairy. No one knows. Most people are rude. A couple are friendly. Jillian sends a homeless person to get a coffee, but of course, the person doesn't comes back. And she runs into her ex. And of course, the ex's new girlfriend. Or is she not a "new" girlfriend? It's complicated. Some fun names making appearances.. tippi hedron (the birds), jesse eisenberg, jason ritter. It's an interesting afternoon, watching her interact with the various people. Kind of a study of everyday people. Directed by jay gammil. He was nominated for several emmies for the great race. Written by jim beggarly.

Based in part on a worryingly low IMDb rating, I went into "Free Samples" with some hesitance, but to my surprise it ended up as the highlight of the Palo Alto International Film Festival for me in terms of sheer entertainment value. It reminded me a great deal of a Sundance favorite from a few years back, "Smiley Face" with Anna Faris, due both to its snarky but ultimately sweet sense of humor and the wonderfully expressive and funny things that lead actress Jess Weixler is able to so with her face and her delivery. It's the kind of quirky -- I think one may in fact be required by law to use that word when reviewing films like this -- comedy about not all that much that understandably will rub some viewers the wrong way, but it's executed with so much giddy confidence (especially for a first feature) that it had me from the first minute and held onto me for all of the rest. Director Jay Gammill mentioned at the Q&A that he's currently working on a second feature with the same screenwriter. I'm looking forward to it.

When I was watching Free Samples by myfreedeals.com I was taken for a great and surprising ride. I did not know how funny Jillian was going to be in this movie. At first, I was not going to watch but the fun all begins when the Ice Cream truck comes into play. If you are looking for a funny light hearted movie this is one you definitely want to see. My personal opinion is that you will be laughing for about half of the movies at the same time you will feel the emotion that the characters are going through. I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone but the end of the movie is one of the most important parts to me and I was definitely not disappointed. You need to add this movie to your collection.