100 Mile Rule

It has been a minute since I have seen this movie....However, it is still fresh and amazing. Everything about it from the Directing to the Acting to the Script is great!!! Maria Bello is stunning and a totally under rated as an actress...now getting some much deserved recognition from The Cooler. Brent Huff's direction is amazing...what may have been a low budget film comes across like a big budget Hollywood Movie. I highly recommend this film. You will find yourself intently thinking about the subject matter one minute and then rolling on the floor with laughter the next.

OK, so it isn't a great movie. Who cares? It has Maria Bello and that's enough for a peek if you have nothing else to do. She plays a con artist who takes advantage of the saying, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." In this case, it's what happens 100 miles from home doesn't matter. Businessmen at a corporate training trip taking advantage and getting caught. The movie spends a lot of time filming the trainer. Time wasted that would have been better spent film Miss Bello. Our loss. Also stars Dawn of the Dead's Jake Weber, and The Ring's David Dorfman as father and son. There are a bunch of others in the movie, but hey, I'm watching because of Maria Bello so i really don't care about them.

I saw this movie at a film festival (Fort Lauderdale) and what a waste of time and money. The only thing going for it is the presence of the beautiful and talented Maria Bello; however, the viewer wonders how someone of her talent got mixed up in a below-average effort like this one. The major problems are a deficient script that couldn't get a passing grade in Screenwriting 101 and what can only be described as amateurish directing.

I picked this up because it had Jake Weber in it, who I love, and because I find Michael McKean hilarious. I didn't know what to expect, but I loved it. The comedy is quite clever and had me on the floor quite a few times. The acting is top-notch. Maria Bello is perfect as the femme fatale and makes sure not to go for the jugular in her scenes, brilliantly underplaying them to snare her game. Jake Weber has the dorky family man role down pat. Everything from the shifting of his glasses to his walk to his horrendous shirts. One of the funniest scenes involves him and his wife attempting phone sex.

Don't expect a mastepiece, it's just lightweight entertainment. But it's incredibly well-made, clever, funny, and well-acted.

9/10

"100 Mile Rule" is a comedy about three Detroit salesmen on business travel who become embroiled in scheming and scamming in L.A. This journeyman little low budget B-flick is a nominal no brainer watch for anyone interested in the something to chill to. Just keep expectations low and don't expect any LOL's. Lightweight entertainment for the male sofa spud sans tit-illators. (C+)