10 Items or Less
An actor researches his role as a grocery-store manager.
This short, airy comedy is the very definition of light entertainment, said Michael Ordona in the Los Angeles Times. Morgan Freeman plays a famous actor who wants to end a four-year hiatus with a role as a grocery store manager in an independent film. In order to research the part, he gets a ride to an authentic market in a poor Hispanic district near Los Angeles, where he is stranded with no phone and no car. He asks the checkout girl (Paz Vega) for a ride, and the two get to talking about life. The 82-minute film is 'œnot deep, but it's a charming enough diversion.' Charming, that is, until we begin to see its condescension, said Joe Morgenstern in The Wall Street Journal. Brad Silberling, who also wrote the screenplay, is more used to directing splashy movies such as Lemony Snicket and City of Angels. His portraits of Hispanic families and people who get paid by the hour are stereotypical and out of touch. Perhaps Silberling has been in Hollywood too long to give a film about blue-collar life any 'œgrounding in reality.' He's also forgotten to write a plot into his script, said Jack Mathews in the New York Daily News. Nothing really happens in 10 Items—it's 'œan idea in want of a story.'
Rating: R
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Fico assassination attempt exposes deep divisions in Slovakia
The Explainer Violence lays bare the growing schism between older, nationalist Slovaks and younger, pro-Western liberals
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Reality TV stars charged in 'finfluencer' crackdown
Speed Read Lauren Goodger and Rebecca Gormley among seven stars charged by the Financial Conduct Authority
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
New Caledonia: is Azerbaijan to blame for deadly riots in French overseas territory?
Today's Big Question Catalyst for the disorder is new legislation that would expand the eligible electorate, but Baku is accused of fomenting turmoil
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published