10 Items or Less (2006)

An actor (Freeman) prepping for an upcoming role meets a quirky grocery clerk (Vega), and the pair hit the road to show one another their respective worlds.

Director:

Brad Silberling

Writer:

Brad Silberling

Stars:

Morgan Freeman, Paz Vega, Jonah Hill

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Morgan Freeman	...	Him
Paz Vega	...	Scarlet
Jonah Hill	...	Packy
Anne Dudek	...	Lorraine
Francisca Hernandez	...	Market Wife / Market Gossip #1
Nacho Pina	...	Market Husband
Hector Running-Hawk	...	Squeezing Customer
Alexis Hernandez	...	Cowed Customer
Silvia Curiel	...	Shocked Customer
Shawn Calizo	...	Scared Customer
Kumar Pallana	...	Lee
Rosa Diaz	...	Market Gossip #2
Hector Atreyu Ruiz	...	Gangbanger in Lowrider
Bobby Cannavale	...	Bobby
Leonardo Nam	...	Kid at Target

Storyline

A well-known actor, who hasn't accepted a role in four years, is considering a project. The cousin of the director drives him to Archie's Ranch Market, in Carson, and drops him off to do a little research. He's fascinated by one of the checkers, Scarlet, a young woman from Spain with a preternatural ability to ring up items at the cash register. She hates her job, stuck at the 10 items or less lane. The actor chats her up, and when her shift ends, he asks for a ride. In the course of the afternoon, he helps her prepare for a job interview. She needs to have confidence, he needs to commit. Human contact, however brief, can change people.

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Plot Keywords:

watching tv | actor | research | job interview | interview | 

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Taglines:

You Are Who You Meet

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

8 February 2007 (Israel)

Also Known As:

10 stvari ili manje

Filming Locations:

Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$35,929, 3 December 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$81,416, 17 December 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Reveal Entertainment, Revelations Entertainment, Mockingbird Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director and producer Brad Silberling gave his two leading characters lots of freedom to improvise during shooting. Lots of scenes in the movie were totally improvised on the spot. The dance scene by Morgan Freeman at the car wash is a good example. The singing scene in the car by Vega and Freeman is another example of total improvisation.

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Goofs

As "Him" is walking through the store, after the mop demonstration, he does not have a mop. But when they are outside walking to the car, he has one.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Him: Sorry, what was your name again?
Packy: Packy.
Him: Packy?
Packy: Yeah.
Him: Are we lost, Packy?

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Crazy Credits

The credits are interrupted for several brief character study scenes involving several locations from the film.

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Connections

References Day of the Animals (1977)

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Soundtracks

Con Tu Amor Y Pasion
Written by Sergio Cardenas & Fernando Cavazos
Performed by Sergio Cardenas
Courtesy of Pigfactory USA

User Reviews

sweet! no really!

Full disclosure: I'm a cynic. I like my endings sad and my hankies dry. I didn't cry when Bambi's mother was shot. Will Smith's new film Happiness looks like a desperate plea for an Oscar. Basically I was born without an artistic soul.

So why on earth did I like "10 Items or Less?" Maybe it was the double espresso I downed before the show. Or (more likely) maybe it was that even the most hardboiled of movie fans could use an occasional shot of sweetness.

And sweet it is. From the moment "Him" meets "Scarlet" (an event far from a Nora Ephron "meet cute") the view is taken on an intimate journey with two strangers learning to care about where their lives are headed. (Aided beautifully by Phedon Papamichael's cinema verity style camera work.)

The main argument about the film is that it's too far fetched. Is the film far fetched? I don't know. You tell me. I've yet to meet Adrian Brody at the market. (However, not for lack of trying). Do I enjoy considering the adventures that might occur should this momentous event take place? Darn straight I do . . .that's where most reviews of "10 Items or Less" fall short . . .they fail to take into account that even we cynics have fantasies. And heck, sometimes, it's worth the price of admission to vicariously live them, 82 minutes at a time.