Dead Broke (1998)

Director:

Edward Vilga

Writer:

Edward Vilga (writer)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

A detective investigates a murder that has taken place outside a debt collection agency in Brooklyn. A motley assortment of suspects includes the employees of the agency. |

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Cast

Jayne Deely	...	Emily
Kevin Dewey	...	Steve
John Glover	...	Sam
Jill Hennessy	...	Kate
Arthur M. Jolly	...	Police Diver
Isabel Keating	...	Forensics Specialist
Christopher Lawford	...	Joshua
Danny Mastrogiorgio	...	Veduccio (as Daniel Mastrogiorgio)
Reginald Mervilus	...	Police Officer
Adam Seth Nelson
Tony Roberts	...	Walter
Cheryl Rogers	...	Luanne
Patricia Scanlon	...	Frankie
Paul Sorvino	...	Harvey
Leslie Lewis Sword	...	EMT Technician (as Leslie Lewis)
Justin Theroux	...	James
Nela Wagman	...	Sherry

Directed by
Edward Vilga

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Edward Vilga		writer

Produced by
Andrew Charas	....	co-producer
Mia Choi	....	co-producer
Chris Craig	....	co-associate producer
Genevieve Lohman	....	producer
David Marcellino	....	line producer
Mark Ross	....	associate producer
Mark Sourian	....	co-associate producer
Thomas N. Staub	....	producer
Leslie Lewis Sword	....	executive producer (as Leslie Lewis)
Nela Wagman	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Edward Bilous

Cinematography by
Joaquín Baca-Asay

Film Editing by
Youna Kwak
Gary Winick

Casting by
Adrienne Stern

Production Design by
George Xenos

Costume Design by
Katherine Jane Bryant
Kristen Couchot

Makeup Department
Necia Mullen	....	assistant makeup artist
Joanne Ottaviano	....	key hair stylist
Joanne Ottaviano	....	key makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lisa C. Clark	....	second second assistant director
Jeremy Slutskin	....	first assistant director

Sound Department
William Kozy	....	production sound mixer
Peter Roigk	....	foley artist (as Peter Roik)
Marcus Sujata	....	sound editor
Joe White	....	boom operator

Stunts
Kyle Derek	....	safety diver
Arthur M. Jolly	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Antonio Ponti	....	a-camera assistant

Other crew
Liza Alhadeff	....	production assistant
Patrick Gibbons	....	key production assistant
Ryan Lifchitz	....	production assistant
Alex Panagakis	....	unit publicist
Miranda J. Smith	....	production assistant

Distributors

• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Polychrome Pictures (2005) (USA) (all media)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some violence and brief sexuality

Runtime:

USA:98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Soundtrack:

Black Box

excellent acting redeems weak film-noir plot

If you can enjoy a prolonged visit with low-life employees of a seedy collection agency, then you are likely to enjoy this film. The performances are all good, and some are truly memorable. Paul Sorvino says "youze" a lot and is completely believable as the gangsterish owner of the "Polite Persistence" collection agency. John Glover's not-quite-handsome and unshaven police detective is just grungy enough to fit right in with the "losers" he must interrogate. Kevin Dewey's performance as "Steve" reminds one of Jim Carrey at his most manic. And, above all, Patricia Scanlon as the "Doberman of Debt," Frankie, pretty much steals the movie with her vicious performance as every debtor's worst nightmare. Her telephone diatribes against her poor "customers" are truly hilarious. She even gets a topless outdoor sex scene, which is more likely to inspire fear rather than to titillate. This is awesome acting.

The main weakness of the movie is the plot. At one point Sam the detective remarks something like "We have eight motives here." Actually, we don't have any motives--because the police do not have a corpse and we do not know who the victim is. If we do not have a victim, we cannot formulate a plausible motive, nor can we surmise why the police would waste so much time delving into the private lives of the agency employees.

But in spite of the obvious plot weaknesses, this film has a real sense of style, and the characters are really fun to watch. I will be spinning this DVD repeatedly for the genuine pleasure of watching Patricia Scanlon's rabid performance.