|
Shot in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson over 15 days, the
resulting film feels similarly slight. Clocking in at a mere 82
minutes (at least 10 of which comprise the out-takes-filled end
credit sequence), it ends up having all the satisfying
substance of a supermarket impulse item. Likewise, its commercial appeal seems awfully limited. It's
destined to be remembered only for being the first film to be
distributed online by ClickStar, the joint venture between
Intel Corp. and Freeman's Revelations Entertainment, following
an anticipated theatrical run. Things kick off with a certain quirky promise with Freeman
as, more or less, Morgan Freeman, being dropped off at an
off-the-beaten-path grocery store where he is hoping to do
research for an upcoming film role. He ends up crossing paths with Scarlet (Vega), a
take-no-crap cashier who has the ability to tally the contents
of a shopping basket in her head. Cutting to the chase, the unlikely twosome end up hitting
the road in her beat-up yellow Gremlin with Freeman prepping
her for a job interview while she introduces the coddled actor
to the wonders of shopping at Target as both share their life
philosophies. While the two leads are highly likable performers, and,
lord knows Freeman has a gift for spinning even the most banal
of dialogue into something golden, Silberling's wisp of a
script just doesn't give them much to sink their chops into,
and the light improvisation that fills the void is something
that makes for a swell acting exercise but very quickly takes
on a ponderously self-serving tone here. By the time Freeman and Vega get down to summing up the
meaning of life -- the title refers to his numbered lists of
likes and dislikes -- "10 Items or Less" sounds a lot more like
one of James Lipton's "Inside the Actors Studio" precious
questionnaires than it does an engaging motion picture. Bobby:
Bobby Cannavale Assistant Manager: Kumar Pallana Director-screenwriter: Brad Silberling; Producers: Brad
Silberling, Lori McCreary, Julie Lynn; Executive producer:
Morgan Freeman; Director of photography: Phedon Papamichael;
Production designer: Denise Pizzini; Editor; Michael Kahn;
Costume designer: Isis Mussenden; Music: Antonio Pinto. Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
|
