Sunday, August 25, 2013

CHEAP THRILLS - MIFF 2013




I do not know if it is a sign of the current economic climate but movies featuring rich people paying the poor and struggling to do immoral acts just for their own amusement seem to becoming more and more frequent.  By their nature, these films come with an inherit nastiness that makes them hard to like which is certainly true of “Cheap Thrills”.

Craig has it all; a beautiful wife, a new baby, a steady job and his house but the one thing that Craig does not have is financial security, in fact his money situation seems to be getting worse on a daily basis.  When we first meet Craig he is leaving for work only to find an eviction notice pinned to his front door.  This would make the day bad enough but when Craig finally makes it to work, he is called to his boss’s office where he is told that they are downsizing the business and his position is one of the ones that has been cut.  On the verge of losing everything, Craig does what any normal man would do: head to the pub.  Whilst drinking away his sorrows, Craig happens to come across Vince, an old high school buddy who is also down on his luck.  The two share and compare life stories with one another when they come to the attention of Colin and his trophy wife Violet, who are out celebrating Violet’s birthday.  It turns out that Colin is filthy rich and he offers the two guys some friendly dares in exchange for cash.  While everyone is having a good time, Colin ups the ante and offers both Craig and Vince the opportunity to share in $200,000.  All they have to do is return to the couple’s house and continue playing their games.  Craig immediately sees a way out of his financial mess and quickly agrees, but as the dares become more and more dangerous and demented, not to mention immoral, he will find out just how far he is willing to go to secure the money he needs to provide for his family’s future.

As I mentioned at the outset, there is a nastiness to “Cheap Thrills” that makes it a hard film to warm to. Watching these rich people humiliate and demean these folks all for a bit of money isn’t necessarily what I would call a good time, in fact I found the whole experience of watching “Cheap Thrills” an uncomfortable one.  While I understand the story is a satire on capitalism and the corruption money can cause to one’s soul, it doesn’t make the film any more endearing.  I constantly felt so sorry for both Craig and Vince, particularly Craig, who was willing to destroy his morals and humiliate himself in an attempt to support his family, but at what cost?  Even if he ends up with the money, what does he lose in the process, that is, what sort of man does he become to get it?

The one thing going against “Cheap Thrills” is its predictability because as soon as it starts, you have no doubt as to where it is going; there is only going to be one logical conclusion to the film.  While the dares start lame and immature, like seeing who can be the first to defecate on a neighbour’s floor, you know that the stakes will continue to rise until the ultimate (and most obvious) dare is presented.

“Cheap Thrills” is something of a reunion for the stars of Ti West’s “The Innkeepers”, as Pat Healy and Sara Paxton star together here again, but in terms of acting performances, they are at total opposite ends of the spectrum.  Healy plays the main character Craig and is just excellent in the role.  He comes across so naturally that you buy every decision he makes; he gives Craig a real everyman kind of quality.  He isn’t special; he is just your average run of the mill type of guy.  Importantly Healy does not instill a sense of desperation in Craig early on; this is a man who understands he has serious financial woes but isn’t planning on doing anything silly to solve them.  However as money enters the picture and Craig is able to picture his life without the financial hassles, you can see a change in Craig.  As the money’s corruption starts to grow in his soul, so does Craig’s desperation to get this money and Healy does a brilliant job at conveying this change whilst still keeping it very real and grounded.  Sara Paxton, on the other hand, couldn’t be worse as she has the nothing role of Violet who basically just sits and watches the whole time.  She is totally wasted in the film and her performance is far too broad, although her role is so underwritten that she really didn’t have much to work with.

When it comes to the other two performances, it has suddenly made me realize that the characters who are not financially secure in life, have been portrayed in an absolute real way, with Ethan Embry also excellent as Vince, whilst the very rich characters almost come across as caricatures rather than real people.  Personally, I thought David Koechner was really poor as Colin, but I now think that this may be the intention of director E. L. Katz.  There is no doubt that he feels more for the everyman of his story and is angry about how the rich seem to get whatever they want without any consequences (and at the expense of the poor), which he portrays by giving the poor and struggling a voice that is believable and that can be heard, while exposing the rich for the arrogant morons he thinks them to be.  If this is indeed what Katz set out to achieve, then I applaud him for the notion, it is just he hasn’t quite succeeded in its execution.  Unfortunately “Cheap Thrills” never really sores, rather it comes across as being a bit one-note. 

As this film took place in MIFF’s “Night Shift” sidebar, you would assume that the film must have its share of blood and violence, which as the dares increase in their intensity, it most certainly does.  Whilst the film is very bloody, I would actually hesitate to call “Cheap Thrills” a gory film.  The scenes of violence have been shot very maturely with a lot of the graphic moments happening off-screen.

Overall, while I liked where its heart was at and what the film was trying to convey (it is ultimately a story about the corruption of money), due to the nastiness constantly present, “Cheap Thrills” wasn’t a film I necessarily enjoyed.  It has been well put together and has a fantastic central performance from Pat Healy but sadly the film never really gets off the ground and is rather a one-note affair all the way up to its predictable finale.  That said, there is still a bit to like in “Cheap Thrills” (it is much better than the recent and similarly themed “Would You Rather?”) and it does have an absolute killer final shot (that says so much about the theme of the film too).


3 Stars.


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