Buffaloed
Directed by Tanya Wexler
Written by Brian Sacca
The review:
Zoey Deutch flexes her I’m-a-legit-actress-not-just-an-offspring-hack muscles* using not only tons of charisma to make us like a tough-gal character, but also also employing a Buffalo-style accent.** While Deutch is engaging, the story swings and misses a few times,*** though does a great job at illustrating the problems with regulation in the American debt collection system. Overall, this was a solid film with a lot of engaging performances**** and a reminder of why it’s best to avoid debt whenever possible.*****
The verdict: Good
Cost: $1.80 via Redbox
Where watched: at home
Consider also watching:
Further sentences:
*She’s the daughter of director Howard Deutch and actress-director Lea Thompson. Once I learned who her mother is, I had a moment of “well of course she looks familiar!” I’ve enjoyed her in a bit role in Everybody Wants Some! and as a the lead in Before I Fall, which was a movie I enjoyed quite a bit and I feel like not many people watched. She was also the assistant in Set it Up, which was one of a bevy of solid Netflix rom-coms I watched in the summer of 2018.
**I will leave it to the residents of Buffalo to determine how well she did at said accent.
***That Deutch’s Peg Dahl becomes part of the problem is where the story lost me. I can only cheer on a debt collector for so long, despite how very likable she is.
****Judy Greer! Plus, Jermaine Fowler was of interest.
*****I mean, universal healthcare would help, for one. No one should be harassed by debt collectors for trying to maintain their health.
Questions:
- At what point did Peg Dahl make the wrong move?
- What parts of this movie did you find believable? Unbelievable?
Favorite IMDB trivia item:
Most of the suits Peg wears were purchased at Goodwill.
Other reviews of Buffaloed:
- Sheila O’Malley, RogerEbert.com
- Kimber Meyers, Los Angeles Times
