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Spent
USA 2017
produced by Sam Mikitarian (executive) for Rump Roast Productions
directed by Lisa Mikitarian
starring Connie Lamothe, Darren Barzegar, Nick Nerangis, Madeline Mikitarian, Tony Villa, Janna Livingston, Anna Grace Padgett, Richard Clem, Sonya Kalian, Lori Staley, Clarence Shubert, Erin Harth, Sally Anderson, Nataly Martin, Joe Mayes, Will Wright, Nathan McDonald
concept by Stephen French, screenplay by Lisa Mikitarian, music by James F. Cotton
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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Herbert Schumacher (Nick Nerangis) has been in hospital for the last
three months due to an incurable brain tumor - and his wife Evelyn (Connie
Lamothe) and son Lonnie (Darren Barzegar) couldn't be happier, as today
he's about to die! Thing is, Herbert has been a miser all his life, but
since he went off to hospital, Evelyn and Lonnie got their hands on his
fortune, a rumoured half million Dollars, and they figure themselves rich
beyond comprehension once he's gone. Lonnie plans to spend his money on
his attractive blond girlfriend Margot (Madeline Mikitarian), while Evelyn
plans to do the same on her affair, Gregory (Tony Villa). Of course, the
two are so blinded by the fortune to be that they don't see Margot and
Gregory are milking them for their money and are secretly a couple.
Then though the incomprehensible happens, Herbert's tumor disappears
over night, and he's released from hospital healthier than ever - crushing
Evelyn and Lonnie's dreams ... which is something the two of them can't
let happen, so they make up a plan B - rat poison. But Herbert of course
isn't likely to take rat poison just like that, and while he keeps his
nearest and dearest in suspense, Evelyn and Lonnie find out they have
wasted pretty much all of Herbert's fortune already - which makes
poisoning the man just an unnecessary risk. But by now Margot and Gregory
finally want their share of the pie and come up with a scheme of their own
...
Now this is an refreshingly unexcited, almost heart-warming
black comedy, a film that doesn't relie on spectacle but trusts its darkly
ironic storyline, fleshed out flawed but likeable characters, and its
strong ensemble cast to deliver the goods, plus the film's beautifully
structured for the narrative tension to never let up. And the art
direction of Spent also deserves special mention, deliberately
refusing to let the film be pinned down to one special era, so do expect
beautiful vintage (circa 1950s) cars next to decades-old computers (1980s
is my guess) and modern smart phones - and it works, too! Worth a watch
for sure ... and a few laughs!
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