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BUFFALOED
Director: Tanya Wexler Cast: Zoey Deutch, Jai Courtney, Judy Greer, Jermaine Fowler, Noah Reid, Lusia Strus, Lorrie Odom, Raymond Ablack, Nicholas Carella, Paulyne Wei, James M. Connor, Brian Sacca, Jayne Eastwood, Kate Moyer MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:35 Release Date: 2/14/20 (limited) |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | February 13, 2020 As an ambitious and self-centered but charming and crafty hustler, Zoey Deutch nearly carries Buffaloed, an insider's look at the world of debt collection. The movie, written by Brian Sacca and directed by Tanya Wexler, portrays that enterprise as nothing more than a racket, while the world surrounding it is akin to a less violent, not-as-obviously criminal form of the mob. The arguments are vaguely convincing, but they're also just an excuse for an uninspired, although admittedly energetic, comedic thriller. The story here begins with Deutch's Peg, a lifelong citizen of Buffalo who has grown to hate the city, trying to earn enough money to pay for an Ivy League college. If she can make it there, she'll hit Wall Street and earn enough money to make everyone envious. Instead, she ends up in prison for counterfeiting football tickets. With a multiple-felony record, Peg is left in debt from the trial. When a collector calls, she realizes that it might be the perfect scheme to get the money she needs to escape Buffalo. Wizz (Jai Courtney), the temperamental and often violent owner of the agency, gives Peg a shot, but after realizing that her boss only cares about his own bottom line, she sets out on her own—a decision that Wizz sees as an act of war. The movie's ambitions may seem significant, given how Peg explains the legally grey area in which debt collection resides and vulture-like nature of its facilitators. Once those explanations are out of the way, though, Sacca's screenplay is all about the battle between Peg, who hires a bunch of outsiders with instincts for sales to her scrappy agency, and Wizz, whose threats against Peg and her family seem hollow. Peg is, after all, not exactly the most sympathetic of protagonists, and given her selfish thinking and actions, we're never quite sold on the idea that injuries to anyone but herself really matter to her. This isn't to criticize the character, whose moral juggling acts serve as the foundation of a fascinating character, played with conviction and sly humor by Deutch. It is to say that Buffaloed probably possesses too much baggage. The movie has too many other things on its mind—from its broad observations and criticisms of debt collection to supporting characters who exist in Peg's shadow—to really act as a character study. Copyright © 2020 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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