Queenpins
Former Olympian Gold Medal winner, Connie is in a loveless marriage to her IRS husband. She is desperately trying to have a child to save it, but due to infertility they have tried IVF, but it has put them into almost $100k in debt.
A ‘coupon queen’ who loves saving money with coupons, she discovers a way to ‘sell’ them to people just like her – and a way to make fake ones, with some help of a couple south of the border – and them mail them across the country.
She soon becomes the target of an overzealous Loss Provention Officer, and also an agent with the United States Postal Service.
Direction
Husband and wife team Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly direct, and write the screenplay.
Seemingly their first ‘big budget’ film, the budget was actually quite an impressively low $7m – and has a look and feel of a film 10x that amount with some of the location breakdowns, as well as the crisp clean feel about it. Not to mention some of the cast…
Cast/Characters
Kristen Bell is likeable as always as Connie. She is able to encapsulates a woman who we empathise with in several of the arcs (her inability to have children, her marriage breakdown etc.).
Kirby Howell-Baptiste is great as Connie’s best friend, and ‘co worker’ Jo-Jo. I loved their chemistry together, with them having starred alongside each other in the television show The Good Place (thankfully no terrible Australian accent in sight here)
Paul Walter Hauser whose fame had recently begun from his Richard Jewell role (one I’ve still to watch/review) is great fun at Ken – the LPO officer trying to bring the women down.
Vince Vaughn gets back to his straight man in a comedy, and does a great job bringing humor in an almost deadpan delivery.
Joel McHale seems to be well cast, and despite his small screen time, is able to come across just ‘slimey’ enough, however I think more could have been done to show how much of an antagonistic husband he was.
Screenplay/Setting/Themes
Bell is likeable as always but has done better in other projects.
There is just the right amount of heart/humour at times – most of which comes from Hauser. Albeit there are some moments that are a bit too 1990s – like the ‘poop talk’ in the car.
There is also some poignant dialogue near the end of the film which is quite touching in regards to Connie’s love of coupons, once again coming from Hauser’s Ken (with a splice of humour).
At 110m, it is about 15-20 minutes too long, and probably could have been edited down some.
I also loved the banter between Hauser and Vaughn – especially the ‘letter’ scenes.
Overall
A sweet enough film – with just the right amount of heart and comedy. All the parts are played well and it has a nice enough and bittersweet open ended ending.
3.5/5
If you’re able to, please “buy me a coffee”