Free Samples

Jillian (Jess Weixler) has left Stanford law school and her boyfriend for a semester to try something new. Only she's no good at anything other than drinking. After a night of passout drinking, she has to give out free samples of ice cream from a food truck for a friend who is joining an intervention for her brother. She faces people with her acerbic wit and her pounding hangover.

I love Jess Weixler's sardonic personality. And it works great especially in the first half with Jason Ritter. They have a fun combative conversation. It's not so much with Jesse Eisenberg. She has more chemistry with Ritter.

The last half does stumble a little bit. Tippi Hedren is playing an interesting character but it's just too cliché. And when school friend Paula drops by, it hits that speed bump a little too hard. For that kind of coincidence, it could never maintain any believability.

This is one of those indie type films I'm actually glad I watched. It's very quirky, and had those moments that made you stop and think. When it started, I had my doubts, but Jesse Eisenberg helped pull me into the story. It's also got some 'laugh out Ioud' moments and some 'laugh out loud about a minute later' moments when you actually process the hilarity of some of the dialogue. The cast is cool.I love the emergence of Jason Ritter, I think he's more talented than people give him credit for. I enjoyed seeing Jesse Eisenberg in a different type role and seeing Tippi Hedren in it was pretty cool too. There was one scene where I thought the comedy didn't work very well, but that's typical of most movies, I guess. Gammill and Beggarly make a good team, not sure if they're working on other stuff together, but there's definitely a market for these types of movies.

This is the definition of a "small" film - no car chases, no guns, relatively little action, lots of talking but somehow moving and enjoyable. The humor is chuckle rather than laugh out loud but the film keeps moving and is never boring. Perhaps best watched at home rather than in a movie theater with minimal distractions. Good acting, even in the smallest of parts, is the mainstay of this movie and the direction is subtle and relatively invisible. The movie is about a 20 something who has hit a roadblock and has literally dropped out of the life she was living. A day spent running a mobile custard stand somehow jolts our 20 something back to life. If you don't need explosions and special effects to enjoy yourself, consider investing 80 minutes in this fine little film.

It's kind of the female version of clerks! Jillian spends the day filling in for a friend. She hands out free samples of some mysterious food, which may or may not be made of dairy. No one knows. Most people are rude. A couple are friendly. Jillian sends a homeless person to get a coffee, but of course, the person doesn't comes back. And she runs into her ex. And of course, the ex's new girlfriend. Or is she not a "new" girlfriend? It's complicated. Some fun names making appearances.. tippi hedron (the birds), jesse eisenberg, jason ritter. It's an interesting afternoon, watching her interact with the various people. Kind of a study of everyday people. Directed by jay gammil. He was nominated for several emmies for the great race. Written by jim beggarly.

'Free Samples' is not a masterpiece, but it's a simple, understated spark of quirkiness and brilliance, without doubt. Not only is it hard not to like this film, it's hard not to like the sarcastic, drop-out Jillian, played by Jess Weixler, who gives a faultless, genuine performance. One thing I find great is how we know nothing about Jillian initially, but we gradually learn more and more as she sells more and more ice-cream through the day. Jesse Eisenberg gives another cool performance of his and the ever-wonderful Tippi Hedren gives a brilliant touch to this delight.

This indie piece shows how so much can hit you throughout a day of serving chocolate or vanilla ice-cream samples. With subtle emotional input and very funny scenes, 'Free Samples' is a desert not to be turned down.