Director: Neal Brennan (Chappelle's Show)Cast: Jeremy Piven (Entourage, Smokin' Aces), Ving Rhames (Mission Impossible, Dawn of the Dead), David Koechner (Anchorman, Waiting...), Kathryn Hahn (Anchorman, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days), James Brolin (Catch Me If You Can, Hotel), Ed Helms (The Hangover, The Office), Jordana Spiro (My Boys, One World), Tony Hale (Arrested Development, Chuck), Ken Jeong (Role Models, The Hangover), Rob Riggle (The Daily Show, The Hangover), Craig Robinson (The Office, Zack and Miri Make a Porno)
The Deal: In a desperate attempt to save his failing used car dealership, Ben Selleck (Brolin) hires a team of "mercenary" car salesman to ramp up sales during the 4th of July weekend. Led by the fast-talking and ego-fueled Don "The Goods" Ready (Piven), the group has three days to sell over 200 cars. Don quickly falls for the boss's daughter Ivy (Spiro), but she's engaged to Paxton Harding (Helms), a member of a man boy-band and son of the man planning to buy the lot when it finally goes under. With the stakes raised to new heights, Don must learn to trust in more than his crafty car selling techniques as well as get over a haunting event from his past if he wants to succeed at the daunting task set before him.
Thoughts: I expected this film to have the same quality of a used car lot, so I was surprised to find it mildly entertaining and at the very least, funny at times. That's not to say it's a good film, because it's not, but if you're expecting garbage, the film may prove pleasantly surprising. One of the biggest knocks to the film is that there are no characters the viewer will actually care about, and despite a barrage of jokes, many fail to hit their mark. There's a tirade of old jokes that overshadow the more original and funny ones.
I'm sure Jeremy Piven seemed like the perfect fit for a cocky car salesmen since he plays a cocky agent on Entourage, but the problem is that his character is not funny, the viewer will care the least about him despite him being the central character of interest, and he fails to calm my urges to hit him in the face with a shovel. Some may think he's a perfect casting (he probably is), but it makes me just hate the film more. Two of the funniest characters were unfortunately small roles. Craig Robinson was pretty hilarious as DeeJay Request, the DJ who doesn't take orders from anyone. Any time someone yelled a song request, he'd get pissed and play something completely different. Rob Riggle was also pretty funny. He plays a 10-year-old trapped in an adult man's body, and I'm sure he had a blast in the role. Watching Kathryn Hahn's character hit on him was both very creepy and really funny.
Films like this really just rely on their load of familiar faces to get by. They put a slew of comedy veterans in it and hope their popularity will bring people to see it. It works, but I really wish they'd attach a decent script to the film. These films only become memorable if it's actually good, and this is one that will surely be forgotten. There's a cameo by Will Ferrell that's really funny, but again, it's just them plugging in another celebrity. It's a formula that's getting very old and tiring, but thankfully, this film at least has a few original jokes.
Verdict: It's funnier than expected, proving to be mildly entertaining, but the film falls quite short. Piven is annoying, and there's not a single character worth giving a darn about. Worth a rental, but hold off on the theaters. ☆☆
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