Chump Change

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 The Milwaukee half revolves around neighborhood bars, quirky menus, and outdated attractions.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

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!!!

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!

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!!!