There is some serious talent both on and behind the screen in this movie. A tale of a single day in the life of a large car dealership. The movie was made by Arizona State University teacher and students from the drama school. They have a bright future in the industry.
Patrick J. Adams plays Mark, the son of the dealership's owner. They have a seriously dysfunctional relationship and the father manipulates Mark by promising him his own dealership if he can sell 30 cars by the end of the day. The father has weaseled a deal with an investor to purchase another lot (the one he promises to Mark) but only if they can come up with the capital, which is why they need to sell so many cars. The conflict comes as Mark tries to juggle his marriage, his job, his friends and co-workers and his own soul in order to get the deal done so he can own his own lot and run it the way he wants, honestly.
Adams is great as Mark. I love his performance on Suits, and its good to see he has the talent to play other characters. George Lopez, Nia Vardolos, and Octavia Spencer (in a short cameo) are the heavyweight names in the cast. The others are new or up and comers who do a fantastic job portraying the chaos and pressure of selling cars.
The beauty of this film is that selling cars is just the MacGuffin. The real plot is Mark's conflict within himself to lose the battles (firing a friend, lying about payroll issues, etc) in order to win the war (getting his own dealership) which start to take their toll on him. His wife files for divorce, his employees start to question his leadership, his best friend starts to question Mark's honesty, and his dad taunts him cruelly throughout. How Mark handles these things professionally and with his eye on the goal, not the journey, is remarkable writing. Adams does a great job pulling off this nuanced character.
Some of the other reviewers have mentioned how realistic the movie portrayed car dealerships and selling cars. Again, you could have made this about selling tires or boats or electronic equipment and it would have not changed much. It was about one man standing by his principles while coming close to crossing the line.
