I had never heard of "Cashback" until I noticed that eye-catcher of a DVD-cover in my local videostore. It doesn't happen very often that movies with an interesting DVD cover are also very interesting to watch. "Cashback" is the exception to that rule.
The movie has got an interesting concept. Ben, a guy whose just been dumped by his girlfriend, suffers from insomnia and takes on a job at a supermarket to use his extra time and make some money during the night. There he gets to know some wacky characters who all have their ways to fight the boredom of their eight hour-shift at work. Ben has got his own technique: he "freezes" time and walks around, looking at the beauty of things (mainly nude women).
"Cashback" starts out so great. It's heartbreaking to watch Ben suffer from the break-up with his girlfriend. The movie gives us even more to identify with when Ben takes on the job at the supermarket. We all know that feeling of being stuck in a dead-end job with an idiot boss and time just won't go by during your shift. And when Ben starts freezing a moment in time for the first time, that's the obvious highlight of the film - especially for men, who can watch Ben living out one of their greatest secret fantasies (just why are there only girls who look like supermodels in this movie?).
It was interesting for me to learn afterwards that this portion of "Cashback" had been a stand alone short movie two years before the release of the full length feature. (Apparently, it has even been nominated for an Oscar!). Well, that makes a lot of sense in hindsight as the rest of the movie seems very much built around it.
Firstly, the character of Ben's boss has a weird change of personality. Whereas he is kind of aggressive in the time freezing-sequence, he comes across as a ridiculous, but likable dork in the rest of the movie. The tone of the story also shifts curiously throughout. "Cashback" starts out as a clever drama in the vein of "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind", then all of a sudden there are some totally goofy and uncalled for feelgood-comedy moments spliced in (worst offender is an unbearable montage of all the main characters getting ready for a party by dancing around in front of their mirrors - yuk!). When the movie ends, it has turned into an unrealistic romantic comedy with a sappy ending, leaving the viewer with the feeling of just having watched a strangely incoherent film.
Knowing that director/writer Sean Ellis had to extend his original idea and write a whole motion picture around it, I can see where this incoherence is coming from. It's a bit of a shame that Ellis wasn't able to stretch out the feel of the short movie over the course of 90 minutes, but "Cashback" is still an enjoyable little flick with a great cast and some highly intriguing scenes. Definitely check it out, if you get the chance.
The movie has got an interesting concept. Ben, a guy whose just been dumped by his girlfriend, suffers from insomnia and takes on a job at a supermarket to use his extra time and make some money during the night. There he gets to know some wacky characters who all have their ways to fight the boredom of their eight hour-shift at work. Ben has got his own technique: he "freezes" time and walks around, looking at the beauty of things (mainly nude women).
"Cashback" starts out so great. It's heartbreaking to watch Ben suffer from the break-up with his girlfriend. The movie gives us even more to identify with when Ben takes on the job at the supermarket. We all know that feeling of being stuck in a dead-end job with an idiot boss and time just won't go by during your shift. And when Ben starts freezing a moment in time for the first time, that's the obvious highlight of the film - especially for men, who can watch Ben living out one of their greatest secret fantasies (just why are there only girls who look like supermodels in this movie?).
It was interesting for me to learn afterwards that this portion of "Cashback" had been a stand alone short movie two years before the release of the full length feature. (Apparently, it has even been nominated for an Oscar!). Well, that makes a lot of sense in hindsight as the rest of the movie seems very much built around it.
Firstly, the character of Ben's boss has a weird change of personality. Whereas he is kind of aggressive in the time freezing-sequence, he comes across as a ridiculous, but likable dork in the rest of the movie. The tone of the story also shifts curiously throughout. "Cashback" starts out as a clever drama in the vein of "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind", then all of a sudden there are some totally goofy and uncalled for feelgood-comedy moments spliced in (worst offender is an unbearable montage of all the main characters getting ready for a party by dancing around in front of their mirrors - yuk!). When the movie ends, it has turned into an unrealistic romantic comedy with a sappy ending, leaving the viewer with the feeling of just having watched a strangely incoherent film.
Knowing that director/writer Sean Ellis had to extend his original idea and write a whole motion picture around it, I can see where this incoherence is coming from. It's a bit of a shame that Ellis wasn't able to stretch out the feel of the short movie over the course of 90 minutes, but "Cashback" is still an enjoyable little flick with a great cast and some highly intriguing scenes. Definitely check it out, if you get the chance.