Director Danny Leiner is my cousin by marriage. Okay, disclaimers out of the way, I saw this movie and liked it. I was at a by-invitation showing in a theater and have no idea where you can get this one on tape or disk, but if you like clever stories with witty dialog about characters who get into problems, then you'll like this one. Danny is a talented guy and his work is already going good places. This is not, despite what it says on IMDB, his directorial debut, but it's probably going to be regarded as such. Accordingly, it's going to be a piece with historical value. You might want to be able to say you saw it before everyone else.
Piven is a good choice for the low-key, cynical lead. He plays his part with understatement that makes his snide remarks all the more biting. The pace is good and the visuals have a slightly gritty, New Yorky feel that gives the movie valuable context. My only complaints are that we see the same sets a bit too often, and that indoor shots lack some needed depth-of-field. I've never asked Danny about it, but I have to guess both were due to low budget (the latter problem being something you solve with really, really big lights).
If you liked Kevin Smith's "Clerks," you'll like this one, too. It's not as rough or vulgar, but it will give you the same feeling of watching losers who don't know they are losers, and who you are hoping will be winners by the end of the story.
