If you looked up the word underdog in a dictionary, there you would find an image of Fran from the movie The Mini. No doubt this futon salesman from Boonville, Indiana is a kind soul who just keeps getting hit with the hard knocks of life. With just a handful of characters surrounding Fran's life, Maverick Entertainment gives a nice compelling satire of when the nice guy does actually finish first.
Not only is he in the running for a promotion to mattress sales, Fran's career path on climbing the ladder in the bedding environment is configured by his power to win the annual mini marathon race against the current mattress sales guru, Rick. The manager of the store Rick and Fran work at can only be described as an instigator at best, but Fran's belief in himself to take the race is strengthened by his best friend and trainer, Dale.
Even unlucky Fran gets lucky sometimes as he scores the last pair of free tickets to a concert featuring his favorite band and takes his newfound love Carmen. She is very supportive of Fran's endeavors, as is his Mom who knows that Fran's Dad won first place in the same race in the 1970's. And while the pressure is on for Fran to juggle his work and social status amongst his peers, he will not stop until his goal is accomplished.
There are some super funny scenes in the film, such as Fran using the expressway for his jogging purposes to get in shape for race day. The humorous tag lines used when answering the incoming calls at the bed mart, very creative approach. Lastly, Fran gets the final chuckle and everything ends as it should in this heartwarming tale where the underdog finishes first! Out on DVD everywhere May 11th and available OnDemand beginning in June! Health and Happiness! Janel Rana aka "Discount Diva" DiscountDiva.Multiply.com "Saving the world 1Qpon at a time!"
