Small Time

As a longtime fan of Chris Meloni, someone who in my opinion is an excellent actor, it boggles the mind why he would associate himself professionally with this piece of California based garbage. There is nothing that distinguishes this picture from many others of its ilk, father-troubled son conflicts and all the issues that go along with them. Written and poorly directed by Joel Surnow, a run of the mill comedy writer, Chris had little to work with, so I'll excuse him this time. Every actor makes clunkers and this was certainly one of Mr. Meloni's. Maybe he needed the money. Perhaps Los Angeles and the quintessential New Yorker Mr. Meloni is had poor chemistry. Whatever it is, 'Small Time' is a forgettable film. Don't waste an hour and 40 minutes of your life watching it, you'll never get that time back.

"This is the story about my father and the summer we spent together many years ago. It was the summer that changed my life."

When using the above quote in a movie (or even worse, it's spoken by a voice-over) you actually expect a corny story with a moral character about a generation conflict between adolescents and their parents. However, don't expect too much drama in "Small time" because it's not that dramatic. To my surprise I thought it was a pleasant film to watch anyway. At times it was quite funny and entertaining. Granted, they've indeed incorporated a moral in it. Let's just say it's in fact a void story about the necessity of young people to listen to their parents when it's about significant life lessons. Eventually those parents only wish the best for their children and in the end they surely can help their unruly adolescents with their "taken from life" wise advice.

Al Klein (Christopher Meloni) and Barbara (Bridget Moynahan), a divorced couple, are being faced with the decision of their son Freddy (Devon Bostick) who no longer wants to go to school. Instead of his pants getting worn out by sitting at a school desk, he wants to follow in his father's footsteps as a salesman. Al Klein is a second-hand car dealer and runs a business together with his partner Ash Martini (Dean "Under the Dome" Norris). It wasn't exactly a lucrative enterprise in the beginning. And that's something Barbara didn't appreciate very much. The uncertainty and financial instability made her decide to turn her back on Al and start a new life with her former boss Chick (Xander Berkeley). The decision made now by Freddy obviously creates a bit of tension between the two. Freddy probably had a rose-tinted view of it but the start in his father's business isn't as easy going as he thought it would be. The first contacts with customers are rather stiff and finally we see a somewhat pathetic little person who's totally ignored. But his self-confidence grows and he evolves into a slick salesman. The fact there's also a tad rudeness in play and Freddy's interacting disrespectful with others, is a thorn in Al's side.

"Small Time" is a typical weekend movie that wouldn't be noticed in the programming of some television channel. It's such a pedantic film that could perfectly serve as filler for an evangelistic broadcasting. That doesn't mean that this is an awfully bad movie. To be honest it was pretty entertaining thanks to the chemistry between Al and Ash. The way they apply their selling techniques to persuade customers to buy the car they were interested in, is a joy to watch (I never thought that a hearing aid would be a good attribute for this). They are two crafty salesmen who have developed a well-oiled collaboration over the years. It wouldn't surprise me if the author of the book "How to sell your mother in law" asked for advice from these two slick salesmen. Only Al thinks certain standards are vital as for example having respect for both the customer and those who work for you. And that's something that Freddy lacks at times.

The only thing that bothered me, were the used clichés in this film. But especially Freddy's abrupt transformation from a rookie without experience into a seasoned seller, I found a bit exaggerated and improbable. Don't expect an overwhelming message or a breathtaking ending. The only thing noteworthy to mention also, is the small contribution by Amaury Nolasco as the Spanish-speaking mechanic. You see him quickly taking off his work clothes after which he appears in a flashy costume, so he can help out with a sale with Spanish-speaking customers. Only that fragment made it worthwhile to watch the film.

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I just finished watching this film and to be honest, the poster and the title wasn't really too catchy for me, but I gave it a chance because Dean Norris (Better known as DEA Agent Hank Schrader for you Breaking Bad fans out there.) was cast as one of the lead actors in the film, alongside Christopher Meloni (Det. Elliot Stabler from the TV Series, Law and Order) and Devon Bostick (Rodrick Heffley from Diary Of A Wimpy Kid). Special mention to Amaury Nolasco (Orange Julius from 2 Fast 2 Furious), Xander Berkley (Henry Hurt from Apollo 13) and Bridget Moynahan (Helen from John Wick). The story basically revolves around a divorced co-owner of a used car lot whose son decides to skip College to come work for him on the car lot as a salesman despite the adamant resistance of his mother. The film is set in a time when smart phones didn't exist and having a cordless phone with the pull out antenna was considered a luxury, when . As expected, Dean Norris played his role quite exceptionally alongside his other co-stars, there was good chemistry between the the two lead salesmen especially in the scenes where they work in tandem to close a sale, I would have probably bought a used car from them. Personally, the camera angles employed were fairly simple but were maximized to good effect and weren't overly done. The film had a very natural feel to it in terms of lighting and warmth. Overall, I think it was very well made. The film is about 1 hour and 30 minutes long which is perfect for me given the flow of the story, it wasn't too short so it didn't feel rushed and it wasn't too long for the depth of story where it just becomes dragging.

I could personally relate to this film being in the field of sales as well (I'm a Financial Adviser for a Life Insurance company, part of our role is to sell our products.) so I was able to put myself in their shoes somehow, especially during the scenes that wherein the actors were making sales or attempting to make sales. Of course, the style of sales employed in the film is different from the life insurance industry (tangible product vs intangible product), it's still something that can be related to, specifically the scenes wherein the salesmen were rejected and the elated feeling they had when they made a sale. I especially like this scene wherein Freddy (Devon Bostick) and his father Al (Christopher Meloni) were at home and Freddy was telling his dad how amazed he was by how well they (Al and Ash (Dean Norris) spoke and made sales, he referred to them as "geniuses" and Al simply told him "Trust me, we're not. We're hungry. We close deals or we don't eat." which is similar to something a good friend of mine told me when he was starting out in the Life Insurance industry and he's now gone on to be one of the very best Financial Advisers in the field today. Another part of the film that I liked was again, another conversation between father and son, they were talking about life and how it can be complicated, it's something that made me smile and feel understood, hearing the lines "Sometimes it's really shitty. Sometimes it's miraculous". This movie is by no means a father and son tearjerker film but it is a feel good movie that's rolled into a partially serious and partially witty and humorous package that will leave you with some lessons about life and a few quotable quotes.

Whether you're a salesman or just a man (or woman) looking for an enjoyable film, I'd recommend the film, Small Time.

Thanks for reading!

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(2014) Small Time COMEDY DRAMA

Written and directed by Joel Surnow that has owner of an used car salesman, Al Klein (Christopher Meloni) attempting to reunite with his son, Freddie Klein (Devon Bostick) by allowing him to work alongside with him, also as a sleazy used car salesman along side with his partner, Ash Martini (Dean Norris), Al's mechanic, Barlow (Amaury Nolasco) and finally, Al's secretary, Gail (Ashley Jensen). As opposed to what Al's ex Barbara (Bridget Moynahan) actually wanted her son to do which was to go to college and graduate from high school. There's something humorous about the entire set up of a sleazy car dealer reuniting with his somewhat of an estranged son.

I love films that are about people as opposed to films where there is a lot of action. So, while the public often flocks to blockbusters with huge budgets and explosions, I am often more happy seeing a much quieter style of film—one where the characters are the center of the film. This doesn't make me right or wrong—it's just the sorts of films I usually prefer. For example, after seeing the most recent Oscar-nominees for Best Picture, one of my very favorites was "Nebraska" and I much preferred it to most of the action-packed and star-studded films running against it. Because of my tastes in films, Small Time is pretty much exactly the sort of movie for me—and it may just be that way for you if you're looking for an interesting story about seemingly normal folks.

Christopher Meloni (of "Law & Order SVU" and "True Blood" fame) stars as Al Klein—a divorced used car salesman whose ethics are extremely limited to say the least! He and his partner, Ash (Dean Norris), will say almost anything to close a sale and they are good at what they do. A big surprise comes to Al, however, when his son, Freddy (Devon Bostick), graduates. Instead of going off to college at Cal Poly (one of the top schools in the country), Freddy announces that he wants to move in with dad and go to work with him selling cars. At first this seems wonderful —father and son together and doing what Al loves most. But, as time passes, the awkward son starts to become more and more like his dad—and perhaps even better when it comes to selling cars. This change in Freddy causes an emotional crisis for Al. Does he really want the kid to be a chip off the old block?!

This is a wonderful character-driven story. Through the course of the film, Meloni's character grows—but not in a way that is unrealistic or contrived. And, most importantly, it is not a HUGE change—but a reasonable change. Meloni and the rest of the cast are great—and Meloni proves he's not just good on television but as a movie actor as well. I loved Bostick's performance almost as much as Meloni's and there were also a lot of nice supporting characters that give the film wonderful depth and humor (the opening scene with the young car thief is amazingly clever and made me smile). While this isn't a comedy exactly, some parts are funny and some of it is quite poignant. This film should be a huge boost to the career of Joel Surnow. While Surnow has written a quite a few scripts before this (mostly for TV—such as "24" and the amazingly overlooked "Nowhere Man") and has a few producer credits, here he also gets a chance to direct as well as write the story—and he did a great job with both.

This film would make an excellent date night. Women seem to really like Meloni and the film has a lot for the guys as well. Intelligent and well worth your time.