Shop Talk: A weird little mess that's somehow charming

Is it worth your time?

Honestly? Only if you have a soft spot for movies that feel like they were held together by tape and a prayer. If you want a tight, logical plot, keep walking. You’ll hate this. If you enjoy seeing a cast clearly improvising because the script wasn't ready, you'll probably have a decent time.

Tommy Mack is our lead, and he looks like he’s constantly trying to remember where he parked his car. It’s not necessarily a bad performance, just a very confused one. He plays the art student who inherited this store, and he spends most of his screen time looking at the extras like they just started speaking a foreign language.

The employees are the real draw here, though. They act like they’re in a different movie entirely. One moment they’re folding shirts, the next they’re practically performing a circus act in the middle of the floor. It’s erratic, loud, and honestly, kind of exhausting.

Some observations from the aisles

• There’s a scene in the housewares section that lasts way too long. The silence between the characters is supposed to be funny, but it just gets painfully awkward. 🤐
• The lighting in the back office is bizarre. Half the time, the characters are just silhouettes. I kept waiting for someone to turn on a lamp, but nobody ever did.
• I noticed an extra in the background of the third scene who is definitely just trying not to laugh. He’s biting his lip so hard it’s distracting.

It’s funny how this movie shares that same frantic, "please like me" energy found in things like Westward Whoa. It wants to be funny, it tries to be funny, but sometimes it just settles for being loud. That’s okay, I guess.

There is this one bit with a mannequin that I still don't understand. Why did it have to be there? Why did they focus on it for six seconds? It wasn't a setup for a gag. It was just... there. A plastic face staring into the soul of the audience.

The pacing is all over the place. The movie hits a wall about halfway through and just sort of stays there for a while. You can almost feel the director hoping the actors would just start dancing so the camera would have something to do.

If you’re looking for high art, go watch Dawn instead. But if you’re bored on a Tuesday and want to see some folks running around a store like they’re trying to catch a bus that’s already left the station, give this a shot. Just don’t expect to remember much about it tomorrow. I’ve already forgotten the ending. Which is probably for the best. 🤷‍♂️