The Prime Gig (2000)

A telesales con man finds the ultimate racket - but starting an affair with the girlfriend of his guru-like boss might be the wrong call...

Director:

Gregory Mosher

Writer:

William Wheeler

Stars:

Vince Vaughn, Julia Ormond, Ed Harris

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vince Vaughn	...	Pendelton 'Penny' Wise
Julia Ormond	...	Caitlin Carlson
Ed Harris	...	Kelly Grant
Rory Cochrane	...	Joel
Wallace Shawn	...	Gene
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Mick
George Wendt	...	Archie
Jeannetta Arnette	...	Cheryl
Shishir Kurup	...	Sujat
Harper Roisman	...	Harry
J.J. Johnston	...	Lloyd
Tom Wright	...	Marvin Sanders
Romany Malco	...	Zeke (as Romany Malco Jr.)
Brian George	...	Nasser
Amber Benson	...	Batgirl

Storyline

Pendelton "Penny" Wise is a smooth-talking con-artist who makes a living by scamming people with phoney travel comp vacations over the phone when, desperate for more fast cash, he's called to work for a shady, veteran con businessman, named Kelly Grant, in selling property for a gold mine over the phone, which takes a turn when Penny begins a relationship with Grant's mistress Caitlin, where Penny throws common sense and caution to the wind to woo her, while we wonder who is scamming who here.

---

Plot Keywords:

con artist | gold mine | private jet | greed | con game | 

---

Taglines:

This con artist has just broken the number one rule: never trust another con artist.

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 2002 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Coup monté

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Independent Pictures (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Caitlin Carlson: Am I just going to be another girlfriend waiting for a phone call?
Penny: No one said anything about phone calls.

---

Connections

References Norma Rae (1979)

User Reviews

More than real enough for scam fans!

I once worked for an old line telemarketing company. I was the guy who trained sales people, not telemarketers who read scripts. I was also the guy who filled phone dialing consoles with scammers when it came time to bid contracts, scammers being the type of people I could not hire for anything other than contract bids. Scammers are good. If you take a deep breath, they can close a sale on that. So, movies like The Prime Gig and Glengarry Glen Ross are fascinating because, if you pay attention, you'll get to see things that most people never get to see, never mind believe.

The Prime Gig is well done and more than real enough for those who like stories about scams. The acting is good and there's an absence of melodrama. Everything is done straight up. Movies like this are difficult to end but here we are given a real life ending. The ending works. The movie works. I very much enjoyed it.