Pocket Listing

Good film with a great cast, occasionally good dialogue, and some great one-liners. The story itself felt a tad bit lightweught for me, but it's still a fun time.

Not in recent memory has there been a film which deals with the intricacies of the real estate world, let alone one which features an actual real estate agent as the hero of the film. "I don't just sell houses, I deal dreams" remarks Jack Woodman (played by James Jurdi), a super hot, ultra slick shark in a suit who happens to be L.A.'s top realtor. This guy, or maybe Jurdi's engaging performance, actually made me want to consider studying up on real estate.

Woodman's rise, fall, and ultimate redemption make up the bulk of the story, along with the crazy deal at the heart of the film which amplify the intrigue/mayhem. Satire in the vein of "The Player" and "Get Shorty" add to the mix, producing a film which flies fast, digs deep infrequently, but whose ultimate purpose is to entertain, and oh yeah, to make us all wish we were super cool Beverly Hills real estate agents who find themselves in situations with femme fetale bombshells, Russian mafiosos, Mexican gangsters, and Rob Lowe as a rock star-styled villa owner with a dark side. Are we having fun yet? You will. That's the point.

A thoroughly entertaining expose on the treacherous dealings of contemporary real estate agents in Los Angeles.

The film starts off strong then sags a little in the middle, losing its way a bit when main character Jack falls from grace and winds up a landlord at a slum building. Things really pick up though when he is hired by a sexy vixen to sell a Malibu villa owned by her and her quietly menacing husband (a super fun Lowe).

Not the most realistic and by the book depiction of commerce, economics, and recession, "Pocket Listing" soars most when it is combining both crime genre and dark comedy elements. Give credit to new faces Jurdi and Clark for really turning on the heat and delivering stand out performances which more than hold their own opposite experienced vets like Lowe and Reynolds.

"Pocket Listing" takes a bit to build up but when it does, it truly delivers. 8/10

Tragicomic tale of realtor's rise, fall and tricky comeback has some rewarding moments and great performances from James Jurdi, Logan Fahey, and Jessica Clark as the ultimate seductress.

A genre cocktail, mixing Scorsese-light material excess with reversal of fortune drama and high stakes, sexy con man noir. But it works... largely in part to solid performances from Jurdi as an amiable anti-hero, Clark as an irresistible femme fetale straight out of a 1950's Orson Welles crime yarn, and Lowe in a hipster wig and a welcome return to the kind of raspy voiced, cool as ice villains he perfected in such comedies as "Tommy Boy" and "Wayne's World." Wish Burt had more of a presence here though, but just happy to see him in something legit. The film also feels a bit out of the '90's, even late '80's style of action comedy which is a bit over the top but never the less welcome entertainment.