Super Sucker (2002)

29% of critics liked it
(14 reviews)
40% of users liked it
(1,106 ratings)

Clean carpets and dirty minds find a common ground in this comedy written, directed, produced, and distributed by leading man Jeff Daniels. Fred Barlow (Daniels) is a hapless door-to-door salesman who scrapes together a living selling and distributing the Super Sucker Home Cleaning System, a deluxe… More Clean carpets and dirty minds find a common ground in this comedy written, directed, produced, and distributed by leading man Jeff Daniels. Fred Barlow (Daniels) is a hapless door-to-door salesman who scrapes together a living selling and distributing the Super Sucker Home Cleaning System, a deluxe vacuum cleaning unit, in the small Michigan community of Johnson City. While Barlow and his dedicated but inept staff believe in their product, they don't have much luck in actually moving the merchandise, and hotshot fellow distributor Winslow Schnaebelt (Harve Presnell) is eager to take over Barlow's territory. Super Sucker prexy Cy Suckerton II (John Lepard), tired of the squabbling between Barlow and Schnaebelt, decides to settle the matter once and for all with a contest -- whoever sells the most vacuums in 30 days will have all of Johnson City to themselves. Barlow and his right-hand-man Howard Butterworth (Matt Letscher) try to gear up their staff to make an all-out sales assault on Johnson City, but it turns out that the deciding factor may well be the "Housewife's Little Helper," a little-used vacuum attachment for "cleaning those hard-to-reach places" which Barlow discovers has a surprising use that has nothing to do with sweeping the rug. Super Sucker also features a guest appearance by Dawn Wells (Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island) as the official Super Sucker spokesperson; longtime Bob Seger sideman Alto Reed contributed to the film's soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 31 min.
Directed By: Jeff Daniels
Written By: Jeff Daniels
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 24, 2003 Wide
On DVD: Aug 19, 2003
Studio: Purple Rose Films

Critic Reviews

Tom Long, Detroit News
Has a mad energy and proud idiocy that's impossible to deny.
John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press
Daniels obviously loves the medium and knows how to assemble a movie, but he needs to flesh out a story that could easily have been told between beers and burps at the Escanaba hunting camp.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
A terrible movie.
Allison Benedikt, Chicago Tribune
Daniels turns to hackneyed stereotypes and easy plot lines, choosing to see the Midwest as a place where door-to-door salesmen rule the streets and bored housewives all lead unfulfilling cookie-cutter lives.
Mark Pfeiffer, Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema
Simply put, this movie about sweeper salesmen is a comedic vacuum.
Rory L. Aronsky, Film Threat
'Hopefully, "Super Sucker" will be Jeff Daniels final foray into directing and writing. NO MORE!!!!! NO MORE!!!!!!'
Dan Lybarger, Nitrate Online
Writer-Director Jeff Daniels comes up with about forty-five minutes of inspired silliness, but, eventually, Super Sucker winds up being a one-joke film, though, admittedly, that joke is often funnier than it should be.
Blake French, Filmcritic.com
If you think you've seen every possibility for a sex comedy, then you haven't seen Super Sucker -- and thank your lucky stars for that.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
There's only one joke in Super Sucker, but it's a good one.
Jon Alon Walz, Boxoffice Magazine
The quirky and bizarre nature of the material would have been better suited to a director more nimble with absurd, broad and physical humor.
Jackie Loohauis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Daniels shows his affection for Middle America in every Super Sucker scene and he proves he knows this turf down to the barn-wood paneling of Jackson City's steakhouse.
James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
a lively tale about competition, commerce, community values and, oh yeah, gross misuse of vacuum cleaner attachments.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
It'd be nice to report that "Super Sucker" is an out-and-out triumph, instead of just being an okay to pretty good comedy.