This movie was surprising on several levels. Until recently, I wasn't familiar with Shannon Brown's work. I happened to see him in a touching and intense drama, Every 21 Seconds, when it was in theaters. I actually went to watch Black Panther but showed up late and figured I was there and pretty much decided to watch the next film starting which happened to be 21 seconds, it has a cool poster and I was in the mood to catch a movie, so why not. Brown was the lead, I was floored by his portrayal of a TBI survivor and became a fan instantly. After looking him up, I stumbled across this film and was a little surprised it was a comedy. I recognized the director, Brian Herzlinger and some of the cast, Heather Matarazzo and Burt Young of course. So, it was worth checking out and I'm really glad I did.
This movie is hilarious and Brown was shockingly good. The only reason I say shockingly is because I just didn't expect the same actor that I saw play a very intense and dramatic character so well to be equally as good as the lead character in a comedy. The dude definitely has range. The film overall just has great timing all the beats are sharp, Brian Herzlinger (My Date with Drew) does a great job of telling this story.
The story centers around a wealthy, hedonistic soon to be retired football player "Bigtime Bobby Davis". This guy has it all- looks, charm, cars, mansions, women, fame. Pretty much every guy's fantasy, then through a series of bad luck and bad choices he loses it all and then some. You literally began watching being jealous and envious of him then in a matter of moments you feel sorry for the guy and thank your lucky stars that you are not in his situation. The major transition is executed flawlessly by Shannon Brown. His reactions and facial expressions are perfectly timed, he forces you to be engaged with his character.
The supporting cast is excellent as well. A wild group of characters that I'm sure Herzlinger enjoyed directing because he did a fantastic job. It couldn't have been easy with so many off the wall characters. Heather Matarazzo shines as the relentless and oft times menacing sister of the main character. The sibling dynamic between Brown and Matarazzo is so good that you'd think they were brother and sister in real life if you didn't know any better. Any guy like me that grew up with a little sister will really appreciate how well these two pull off these characters. Another standout performance was Jamie Bernadette, she plays Brown's smoking hot assistant. The chemistry between Brown and Bernadette is electric, very steamy. You just desperately want them to end up together by the end of the movie. I don't know if this was intentional by Herzlinger or not and I'm not gonna give away any spoilers. I will say that if these two ever co star in a movie together as love interests, I will be first in line to see it.
This comedy is definitely worth checking out, really tough to find many flaws with it. The ending seemed maybe a little unsettled, incomplete. Maybe they plan to do a sequel or somehow continue the story, if so, that would be great! I'd definitely like to see what happens with "Bigtime" and the rest of the crazy characters.
