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10 Items or Less (2006)
  • Caption: 10 Items or Less (2006)
  • Description: Where does a down-on-his-luck movie star go for inspiration when his career has sputtered to a four-year halt? This is the question director/writer Brad Silberling (LEMONY SNICKET’S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS) poses for his central character--an unnamed actor played by Morgan Freeman--in 10 ITEMS OR LESS. The answer lies amid the cheap cereal packets and decomposing vegetables of a dilapidated grocery store on the outskirts of Los Angeles, a location Freeman travels to so he can research a potential comeback role. Once there he encounters Scarlet (Paz Vega), a Spanish cashier who, terminally bored with her life and job, takes out all her grievances on the unsuspecting customers in her 10-Items-or-Less line. At the end of Scarlet’s shift, Freeman’s character finds himself stranded in this desolate outpost, so he approaches her and the two strike up a deal--she will give him a ride home, but only after he has shadowed her while she finishes her errands for the day. Freeman draws some well-observed comic material from the fish-out-of-water situations his character finds himself in, and Silberling proves his low-budget directorial chops after working on a number of bigger projects. 10 ITEMS OR LESS is a slight piece, coming in around the 80-minute mark, but the interplay between Freeman and Vega really makes the film, with the two actors finding a meaningful balance in the serious and amusing material Silberling has written for them. While Freeman’s work is typical of the high quality expected of him, Vega is a revelation. Her feisty, occasionally downtrodden, and remarkably beautiful interpretation of Scarlet provides a strong indication of her potential as an actress, and bigger things will surely follow.

    Directed by
    Brad Silberling

    Writing credits
    (WGA)
    Brad Silberling (written by)



    Cast (in credits order)

    Morgan Freeman ... Him
    Bobby Cannavale ... Bobby

    Paz Vega ... Scarlet

    Anne Dudek ... Lorraine

    Jennifer Echols ... Tracey with an 'E'

    Jonah Hill ... Packy
    Leonardo Nam ... Kid at Target
    Hector Running-Hawk ... Squeezing Customer
    Kumar Pallana ... Lee
    Jim Parsons ... Receptionist

    Alexandra Berardi ... Mop Lady

    Hector Atreyu Ruiz ... Low-riding Gang Banger
    Francisca Hernandez ... Market Wife / Market Gossip #1
    Nacho Pina ... Market Husband
    Runninghawk Hector ... Squeezing Customer (as Hector Running-Hawk)
    Alexis Hernandez ... Cowed Customer
    Silvia Curiel ... Shocked Customer
    Shawn Calizo ... Scared Customer
    Rosa Diaz ... Market Gossip #2
    Matthew Perales ... Carwash Kid
    Alfonso Gutierrez ... Carwash Manager
    Mary Vargas ... Carwash Cashier
    Eddie 'Piolin' Sotelo ... Radio DJ (voice) (as Piolin)

    Danny DeVito ... Big D
    Rhea Perlman ... Big D's wife
    rest of cast listed alphabetically:

    Ski Carr ... Tony / Banger (uncredited)
    Vivianne Nacif ... (voice) (uncredited)

    Scott Norris ... Bison Member (uncredited)

    Emiliano Torres ... Gang Banger 2 (uncredited)
  • Actor/Actress/Director:
  • Movie: 10 Items or Less
  • Id: 10892381
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