This movie is so unbelievably bad, that it's almost good. Just like Ed Wood's work, this film will have you laughing for all of the wrong reasons, but in that way it's kind of worth seeing. The filmmaker clearly wants to be a cross between Tarantino and Seinfeld - the film is full of overlong conversations about things like urinal etiquette. In fact, this writer/director seems to be obsessed with bathroom scenes - this film has at least two very long ones, and his first film (Hand) also has more than one. It's possible that going to the bathroom is the only dramatically interesting thing that he does in real life, and therefore it's what he writes about. In any case, this film probably has to be seen to be believed. There isn't a single moment in it that rings true. It's almost as if the writer/director has no sense of the real world, or real people. I recommend it to people who appreciate truly bad movies. If you've seen and enjoyed all of Rudy Ray Moore's movies, this one may be an acceptable, although majorly less cool, follow up.
4 Reviews
Clever story of ticket scalpers in Winnipeg who try to keep their profession honourable while dealing with life's curve balls.
Donald Walkinshaw4 June 2002
This film deserves notoriety. I had never heard of it; just stumbled across it on television. Too bad, because it is a great movie. The script is very clever, in terms of action and dialogue, and does a great job mixing hilariously silly moments with profound drama. Also, the acting is superb, I can't wait to see this auteur's next movie, or see these actors in other projects. Canada is not known for its film industry (even in Canada), and this is just the type of smart, exciting film that the industry should do a better job of promoting. Genuinely a film to be very proud of. However, I was disappointed in seeing a character pronounce the letter z "zee", instead of "zed". The directed showed signs saying Winnipeg, so he obviously wasn't too concerned with it pretending to be an American movie. Anyway, this film is great, and everybody should know about it.
Cool Independent film.
johnnymovieboy18 May 2005
Ordered this cool movie from Netflix and was totally into it. Originally, I got it when I saw that it was one of the first films that Steve Braun was in. He's such a great actor. I loved him in The Trip. He reminds of a young James Dean, especially his look. Anyway, he was really solid in this movie too, and is surrounded by a hilarious cast. The guys playing Sammy and Lou are funny as hell. As are the goons Vinnie and Gino. They're all total hustlers and if you like movies like The Sting and Ocean's Eleven, you might like this one. Tons of good cons... You can even learn how to get you and your friends into a movie for free! Not the best ever, but definitely a cool film.
A funny film.
edscafe19 August 2003
Scalpers is a fun romp. Great, comedic dialogue, even if it does remind me a little too much of Kevin Smith. There are some hilarious moments in this film about the lives of a group of tickets scalpers and hustlers. My favorites are the pool scene and the date. It's definitely hard to mix drama and comedy, but this dramedy does it pretty well, save for a few over the top moments. But, hey, I cared about the characters. I laughed, I cried. What more is there to say? I dig independent film, because, despite some obvious weaknesses, you get something different at least. Some wonderful performances, cool direction, and solid writing. A unique movie that I enjoyed.
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