Writer-director Edward Vilga parodies the con-man universe of directors like Quentin Tarantino, Bryan Singer and David Mamet in this comic neo-noir crime picture.
There's been a dockside shooting and in the absence of a dead body, detective Sam (John Glover) interrogates the staff of a nearby collection agency. Owned by a shady character named Harvey (Paul Sorvino), the Polite Persistence Company is staffed by a motley crew of phone solicitors. To Sam, they all look guilty — except for single mom Kate (Jill Hennessy), who readily submits to his questions so she can hurry home to her daughter. And while Sam’s suspects may not have committed homicide, they appear to have broken the rest of the nine commandments. Walter (Tony Roberts) a convicted sex offender, made lewd passes at Kate and other female co-workers. Harvey’s star employee, foul-mouthed Frankie (Patricia Scanlon), crossed an ethical line by dating a client (Kevin Dewey). Harvey’s mistress, Luanne (Cheryl Rogers), has a bank account that suggest she doesn’t need to be working at this shabby establishment; accountant Cheryl (Nela Wagman), who keeps Harvey’s books, is also everyone’s secrets. Harvey’s other employee, aspiring actor James (Justin Theroux), has gone AWOL. While sifting through a lot of self-serving testimony, Sam discovers that Steve has been harassing Frankie, who was once a debtor herself. As police divers search the harbor, Sam must hook an unlikely killer whose motive is as elusive as the missing corpse.
Vilga's perfunctory approach to directing never gets in the way of his loopy who-dun-what script, and he elicits zesty performances from a cast who seem to revel in every caustic put-downs. Scanlon and Dewey nearly steal the show with their performances as an unapologetic harpy and her passive-aggressive stalker. leave a comment --Robert Pardi
