Written by: Eric Hoffman, Bob Odenkirk, Philip Zlotorynski
Directed by: Michael Stephenson
Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Amber Tamblyn, Stacy Keach
Rated: TV-MA
Plot
Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul) is a disgraced greeting card writer framed for murder while trying to win a contest and write the best "Girlfriend's Day" card.
Verdict
Despite a simple plot this movie confusing. I know what happened but the why is unclear. This isn't a cohesive story, it's a collection of disparate scenes. While I felt like I missed something, I didn't. This is a rough draft that doesn't try to make any sense.
Skip it.
Review
This has a ridiculous premise. The greeting card industry is a cut throat business where you must kill to win. That could be a fun premise, but it doesn't turn out that way. The story is far too scattered to make sense.
Odenkirk isn't bad with a deadpan performance, but the plot revolves around a greeting card contest. The rest of the movie isn't over the top enough to make that work.
When the governor creates a new holiday, Girlfriend's Day, greeting card writers can submit to win a cash prize. Odenkirk plays a card writer that's down on his luck. He used to be great, but now he's just washed up.
A rival writer is killed, a cop blackmails Odenkirk for no real reason, and then we find out that Stacy Keach killed the other writer and paid a girl to inspire Odenkirk all for a cash prize. It sounds half baked because it is. Some of the individual scenes work, but as a whole this movie fails to deliver. A few good one liners can't overcome the fundamental problems.
The through line is rather cynical, and the movie admits this, people are motivated by greed. The movie should have built up the value of that cash prize. If it's a pride thing as well for Keach, establish that. This movie establishes nothing. We get quirky characters that don't help build a story. Many of the characters have no real reason to be in this story other than it may add to the humor.
Thankfully this is only an hour long so the suffering is relatively quick.
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