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Morgan Freeman projects a natural affability. More than most screen actors, he seems like he'd be fun to hang out with. Wise beyond its intentionally small scope, "10 Items or Less" knowingly plays on Freeman's high likeability quotient and the extent to which it's landed him buddy roles opposite the likes of Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford and Brad Pitt.
"Items" is a buddy picture of sorts in which Freeman plays a facsimile of himself -- a conceit reinforced by not giving his character a name -- who becomes unlikely friends with a grocery store clerk (Paz Vega). He's a Hollywood actor famous for blockbusters co-starring Ashley Judd. There's a scene of him uncovering a video of one -- their unmistakable mugs are splashed all over the cover, although the title, "Double Down," is bogus -- on a remainder table at a Latino supermarket on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
He's at the store researching a role in an independently made movie, a departure for a big star like him. The budget is so minuscule that the producer's cousin is dispatched to drive him to the hinterlands in a dilapidated turquoise van.
Like Russian nesting dolls, "Items" keeps opening up to self references. It also happens to be an indie, not the sort of project the Oscar-winning Freeman usually is found in. But you can see why he signed on -- besides it only requiring a couple of weeks of his time. The script is terrifically engaging, and Freeman, decked out in a leather jacket, shades and an earring in one ear, gets to spoof his own image. Writer-director Brad Silberling exhibits more heart and soul and a more fluid camera than he did in his overblown "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" and "City of Angels."
At the market, the unnamed actor immediately spots star potential in a pretty clerk, Scarlet, who can correctly guess the total of the 10 items or less at her checkout stand before adding them up. Her name is no coincidence. As played by Vega (whose breakout role was supposed to be in "Spanglish," except no one went to see it), Scarlet is as feisty as Miss O'Hara and outshines everyone around her.
Also like her namesake, Scarlet has ambitions to better herself. Later in the day, she's interviewing for a secretarial position at a construction company. When the producer's cousin fails to return to chauffeur the actor back to his Brentwood home, he hitches a ride with Scarlet.
They wind up spending the afternoon together, during which he mentors her on how to get that job. To him, it's just like auditioning for a movie role and requires the same positive thinking.
His years working with wardrobe departments convinces him that Scarlet needs to look the part of a secretary. He goes shopping with her at Target -- he's never been in one before and finds it amazing -- and picks out a blue top that looks professional and sexy at the same time.
It costs a mere $8, compared to the $100 designer T-shirt he's wearing. In one of the film's many lines designed to make you smile all the while wondering about its veracity, he tells her that Clint Eastwood convinced him the shirt was worth it because the sleeves cuff at his triceps, creating an appearance of being taller.
Freeman and Paz winningly play off each other. They show the affection their characters develop for each other and how it borders on the sexual while remaining strictly platonic. Scarlet seems to have rarely if ever received the level of attention from men that the actor focuses on her. He asks her to list the 10 items she can't do without, and really listens to her reply.
As Scarlet enters the building for her interview, he instructs her on maintaining an erect posture and a steady, unhurried gait. "10 Items or Less" proceeds at that pace to an ending that is as inevitable as it is poignant.
Read more: www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/01/DDG0SMM85L1.DTL#ixzz1tM7cI73C"Items" is a buddy picture of sorts in which Freeman plays a facsimile of himself -- a conceit reinforced by not giving his character a name -- who becomes unlikely friends with a grocery store clerk (Paz Vega). He's a Hollywood actor famous for blockbusters co-starring Ashley Judd. There's a scene of him uncovering a video of one -- their unmistakable mugs are splashed all over the cover, although the title, "Double Down," is bogus -- on a remainder table at a Latino supermarket on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
He's at the store researching a role in an independently made movie, a departure for a big star like him. The budget is so minuscule that the producer's cousin is dispatched to drive him to the hinterlands in a dilapidated turquoise van.
Like Russian nesting dolls, "Items" keeps opening up to self references. It also happens to be an indie, not the sort of project the Oscar-winning Freeman usually is found in. But you can see why he signed on -- besides it only requiring a couple of weeks of his time. The script is terrifically engaging, and Freeman, decked out in a leather jacket, shades and an earring in one ear, gets to spoof his own image. Writer-director Brad Silberling exhibits more heart and soul and a more fluid camera than he did in his overblown "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" and "City of Angels."
At the market, the unnamed actor immediately spots star potential in a pretty clerk, Scarlet, who can correctly guess the total of the 10 items or less at her checkout stand before adding them up. Her name is no coincidence. As played by Vega (whose breakout role was supposed to be in "Spanglish," except no one went to see it), Scarlet is as feisty as Miss O'Hara and outshines everyone around her.
Also like her namesake, Scarlet has ambitions to better herself. Later in the day, she's interviewing for a secretarial position at a construction company. When the producer's cousin fails to return to chauffeur the actor back to his Brentwood home, he hitches a ride with Scarlet.
They wind up spending the afternoon together, during which he mentors her on how to get that job. To him, it's just like auditioning for a movie role and requires the same positive thinking.
His years working with wardrobe departments convinces him that Scarlet needs to look the part of a secretary. He goes shopping with her at Target -- he's never been in one before and finds it amazing -- and picks out a blue top that looks professional and sexy at the same time.
It costs a mere $8, compared to the $100 designer T-shirt he's wearing. In one of the film's many lines designed to make you smile all the while wondering about its veracity, he tells her that Clint Eastwood convinced him the shirt was worth it because the sleeves cuff at his triceps, creating an appearance of being taller.
Freeman and Paz winningly play off each other. They show the affection their characters develop for each other and how it borders on the sexual while remaining strictly platonic. Scarlet seems to have rarely if ever received the level of attention from men that the actor focuses on her. He asks her to list the 10 items she can't do without, and really listens to her reply.
As Scarlet enters the building for her interview, he instructs her on maintaining an erect posture and a steady, unhurried gait. "10 Items or Less" proceeds at that pace to an ending that is as inevitable as it is poignant.
