Contrary to what most of the posts state here, there is NO WAY this film is a 10. Those people obviously worked on the film or are friends of the director. It WAS an engrossing tale, one that has been told a million times in cinema, but I give the director credit for trying a fresh approach.
People have been getting caught up in the tempting world of drugs on film for decades, only to have their dreams of quick cash and instant cred go up in a ball of flames. But this time, director Dave Rodriguez took a bunch of no-name actors, made them middle-class working stiffs, and gave the old story a modern twist. The three central characters, Joe (Lindberg), Kevin (Forsythe) and Mickey (DePaolo) are all life-long buddies who have taken different career paths. Kevin is a commodities trader, Joe (who resembles Giovanni Ribisi) a bartender, and Mickey (a dead ringer for a young Kevin Spacey) a salesman; all of them dream of a better life. So when Mickey picks up a bag of Ecstasy dropped by a dealer as he was getting busted at a club, they start to talk about making a quick score. But the drugs belong to the local "X" kingpin, Paul Diaz (Sanchez), who is like a little Tony Montana, right down to his 2nd in charge named Manny. Not wanting to get busted selling HIS stuff, the boys go to Diaz' house and offer a deal: let them sell the stuff- they have plenty of connections- and they push hard to do it. After some debate, Diaz agrees, over Manny's objections, and the clock starts ticking to their implosion.
Of course they start out like gangbusters,slinging "X" all over the place, especially in Miami's gay clubs, thanks to Kevin's friend Toni (a hilarious turn by "Entourage"s Paul Ben-Victor). Things are going great; they're all making cash AND paying Diaz on time, so they start to think bigger: Kevin wants to leave his job after making some large investments, and push full-time; Mickey is becoming a hero with the teen rave crowd and trusting too many people under him; and Joe has dreams of getting out soon and buying the bar when the owner Vince (Palminteri) retires.
Here's where the flick starts to sag a bit. Everyone watching knows what's coming- it's going to end badly. But we are treated to numerous scenes of "emotional heft" that were, frankly, pretty amateurish. When Joe's girlfriend confronts him about sleeping with Diaz to get Joe out of the biz, their crying almost brought me to tears- of laughter. Kevin also becomes an emotional wreck, unconvincingly. This was when the solid but inexperienced cast looked over-matched, which brought down the rating of the film.
Anyway, not to spoil it but it doesn't end well for the boys, and it tells a cautionary tale of not going for the quick buck to sacrifice your whole life. Like I said, nothing new there. But the cinematography, Miami backdrop, and decent if not spectacular performances all made it a film worth watching. Oh, and Michael Rappaport was great as the big time trader with a major drug problem and an attitude.
People have been getting caught up in the tempting world of drugs on film for decades, only to have their dreams of quick cash and instant cred go up in a ball of flames. But this time, director Dave Rodriguez took a bunch of no-name actors, made them middle-class working stiffs, and gave the old story a modern twist. The three central characters, Joe (Lindberg), Kevin (Forsythe) and Mickey (DePaolo) are all life-long buddies who have taken different career paths. Kevin is a commodities trader, Joe (who resembles Giovanni Ribisi) a bartender, and Mickey (a dead ringer for a young Kevin Spacey) a salesman; all of them dream of a better life. So when Mickey picks up a bag of Ecstasy dropped by a dealer as he was getting busted at a club, they start to talk about making a quick score. But the drugs belong to the local "X" kingpin, Paul Diaz (Sanchez), who is like a little Tony Montana, right down to his 2nd in charge named Manny. Not wanting to get busted selling HIS stuff, the boys go to Diaz' house and offer a deal: let them sell the stuff- they have plenty of connections- and they push hard to do it. After some debate, Diaz agrees, over Manny's objections, and the clock starts ticking to their implosion.
Of course they start out like gangbusters,slinging "X" all over the place, especially in Miami's gay clubs, thanks to Kevin's friend Toni (a hilarious turn by "Entourage"s Paul Ben-Victor). Things are going great; they're all making cash AND paying Diaz on time, so they start to think bigger: Kevin wants to leave his job after making some large investments, and push full-time; Mickey is becoming a hero with the teen rave crowd and trusting too many people under him; and Joe has dreams of getting out soon and buying the bar when the owner Vince (Palminteri) retires.
Here's where the flick starts to sag a bit. Everyone watching knows what's coming- it's going to end badly. But we are treated to numerous scenes of "emotional heft" that were, frankly, pretty amateurish. When Joe's girlfriend confronts him about sleeping with Diaz to get Joe out of the biz, their crying almost brought me to tears- of laughter. Kevin also becomes an emotional wreck, unconvincingly. This was when the solid but inexperienced cast looked over-matched, which brought down the rating of the film.
Anyway, not to spoil it but it doesn't end well for the boys, and it tells a cautionary tale of not going for the quick buck to sacrifice your whole life. Like I said, nothing new there. But the cinematography, Miami backdrop, and decent if not spectacular performances all made it a film worth watching. Oh, and Michael Rappaport was great as the big time trader with a major drug problem and an attitude.