An art student named Ben is suffering from a bad break-up. The most
significant symptom of his love sickness is that time refuses to pass for him.
When he's awake the clock ticks in slow motion. When he's asleep ... well,
that's his biggest problem. He can't sleep. He just lies there thinking about
his outrageously beautiful ex, who is now lying in the arms of a slick
douchebag. He chooses to cope with sleeplessness by taking a job in an
all-night supermarket, where every employee has the same problem with the
passage of time. In this new environment, he passes the time by
participating in hijinks with fellow employees and by fantasizing about
beautiful female customers. Eventually he finds a new love where he least
expects it.
The most interesting thing about the film creation is that the
feature-length film is an expansion of a 19-minute short which was nominated
for an Oscar in 2004. Because the director was able to retain all the cast
members, the original footage appears in its entirety in
the protracted 2006 version. Apart from that, there's nothing groundbreaking
about the form of Cashback. It's an offbeat romantic comedy with a first
person narration by a shy, sensitive artistic type. Occasionally he
illustrates an important point about his character by narrating a story about
his childhood, ala The Wonder Years.
We've seen that done more than a few times. It's the kind of concept which,
when done wrong, can either cause a guy to grow a vagina or to throw solid,
heavy objects at the TV screen. But it's not done wrong here. Speaking as one
who spent more than a year working the all-night shift in a retail store (and
actually liked it most of the time), I can attest to the fact that the writer
really seems to have been there, and done that, because the film portrays that
environment with sincerity and accuracy, albeit with selectivity. The film has
great charm, gentle surrealism, off-kilter humor and acres of very naked flesh
in one section. In fact, one of the film's greatest pleasures is the
juxtaposition of its sweet G-rated sensibility with its lingering studies of
beautiful naked women.
It's not a film likely to be remembered as a favorite, but it's a perfect
date movie for grown-ups. Women are likely to appreciate the film's innate
sensitivity and the romanticism of its ending, while an insincere
scoundrel like me can pretend to enjoy all that soft-hearted crap in order
to manipulate his date's heightened emotions, all while ogling some hot naked
chicks, and picking up a few laughs along the way.
If you are not familiar with our grading system, you need to
read the
explanation, because the grading is not linear. For example, by
our definition, a
C is solid and a C+ is a VERY good movie. There are very few Bs
and As. Based on our descriptive system, this film is a:
