Buy It Now (2005)

64% of critics liked it
(11 reviews)
18% of users liked it
(164 ratings)

Inevitably recalling Jean Eustache in his 1977 festival short A Dirty Story, Antonio G. Campos's Buy it Now seizes upon a sensationalistic apocryphal event - that of a 16 year old Manhattanite who opts to sell off her virginity on eBay - and tells it twice, in contrasting narrative modes:… More Inevitably recalling Jean Eustache in his 1977 festival short A Dirty Story, Antonio G. Campos's Buy it Now seizes upon a sensationalistic apocryphal event - that of a 16 year old Manhattanite who opts to sell off her virginity on eBay - and tells it twice, in contrasting narrative modes: pseudo-documentary and dramatized indie feature. The story begins in 2004. Chelsea Magan (Chelsea Logan) is 16 and naïve but not so innocent or guileless; a young woman from a broken home, with a detached, indifferent mother, serious drug addictions and a possible case of anorexia nervosa. One day, she decides to hawk her own chastity on EBay and film the defloration with her mini-DV. All goes according to plan, but Chelsea fails to anticipate the emotional fallout that succeeds her erotic liaison with Peter (Chris McCann); as a consequence, she slits her wrists twice but fails to kill herself. In the second version - a more toned-down, less sensationalistic version of the first - Chelsea and Peter have their initial encounter and Chelsea experiences an emotional crisis upon returning home, at which point her mother insists that she consult her psychoanalyst. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 2 min.
Directed By: Antonio Campos
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Jun 1, 2005 Wide

Critic Reviews

Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
There's a certain genius to this two-part feature that forces us to examine our culture in twisted, complicated ways.
Andrea Kurland, Little White Lies
The Pussycat Dolls must burn on a flaming heap of celeb mags. It's societies only salvation, seriously.
Derek Malcolm, This is London
The film at least says something about her troubled adolescent life. It may be significant that Campos's previous film was called Puberty.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
It's almost an object lesson on how enlarging a short film can be messed up. What a pity that Antonio Campos could not have found a way to start from scratch and grow and develop his story more satisfyingly.
Wendy Ide, Times [UK]
At just over an hour in length and divided starkly into two halves, Buy It Now is a real oddity.It's raw, real and rather effective as a comment on consumerism and alienation in society.
Paul Arendt, BBC
Punches well above its weight.
Anna Smith, Empire Magazine
As a portrait of our consumer-obsessed society through the eyes of an alienated teen, you'll buy into this from the first frame.
Ben Walters, Time Out
Campos establishes a complex nexus of contemporary social and aesthetic concerns with impressive economy and Logan's double performance is strong.
Collin Souter, eFilmCritic.com
But It Now accomplishes so much in one hour that I wouldn't be surprised if media arts teachers across the country used it as a springboard for class discussion.
Josh Bell, Las Vegas Weekly
As a 30-minute short film, Buy It Now is a masterpiece; as a feature, it's a frustrating failure.
Erik Childress, eFilmCritic.com
Harrowing and a sign of our morality-run-amok times, the result is a staggering showpiece and a potent, unsettling film.

Read all 11 critic reviews

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Cast

Rosemarie DeWitt
Chris McCann
as Peter

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