8/10 - similar in style to fellow STX film, Hustlers, this female-led story ripped from real life is utterly engrossing, well-executed, and while not perfect, makes for an enjoyable two hours (and a desire to get more into couponing)
Plot summary
A pair of housewives create a $40 million coupon scam.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU 720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 2160p.WEBMovie Reviews
Queenpins
Needed less not more
This is a fun little movie about some women who sell stolen coupons on the internet.
The premise is simple but solid. The film rests squarely on Kirsten and Kirby who are more than up for the task and they were great to watch.
This could have been an absolute low-end classic like "Office Space" or "Mad Money" but it tries a little too hard to make this truly worth your time.
The story has a lot of bloat to it that so easily could have been cut. The husband feels like he should be integral to the plot but is superfluous. He is only there to be a one dimensional butt-hole for Kristen to rail against. If anything it makes her character come across unnecessarily cold - "I don't need you as I have loads of money now so see you later sucker!".
To pad the film out there is some toilet humour and over-acting jokes that just don't land.
The relationship between the investigators was a nice touch but it feels like they couldn't decide what to do with the Loss Prevention officer and he sometimes felt like a cartoon character: stupid and irrelevant rather than a loveable buffoon.
The plot strays in to silly-land with the hacker character and never really gets back on to solid ground, so any sense of tension was lost and it ended up being a full on comedy and I lost interest in the final outcome.
Overall this is bouncy and fun with an adequate production and some funny jokes. It is good for a Sunday afternoon if you want something new but I think it only has one watch in it.
More entertaining than I expected.
Aside from the many poor attempts at humor, there still were a few LOL moments. The writing needed to be more consistent and tighter, with better character development. The directing was decent and the score on point. The 110 min runtime and pacing were spot-on. But it was the stellar casting and their performances that elevated this "based on true events" interesting af comedy. Kristen Bell shined as the coupon queen, and Paul Walter Hauser nailed his role. I wanted to see more of Vince Vaughn though. Nevertheless, still enjoyable and a recommended watch. It's a well deserved 8/10 from me.