Queenpins Review

PLOT: Two suburban women get involved in an illegal coupon scheme, one that becomes a multi-million dollar criminal offense.

REVIEW: Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. We’ve all heard that before. And there is certainly a mess of examples to prove just how true that is. The new comedy Queenpins understands this. Directed by Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, the film takes inspiration from Robin Ramirez, who, along with two other women, ran an illegal coupon ring. Yep, you know that crap you get in the mail about once a week? Or all those extra advertisements you get with the Sunday paper? That! And it’s a joy to see this strangely delightful look at how ridiculous humans can be. Starring Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste, this good-natured comedy is a nice escape from all the real-world insanity that we see daily.

Kristen Bell is Connie. She’s married to a jerk of a husband (played by Joel McHale, an actor who is very good at playing guys like this). Bored and frustrated by her life, she discovers something miraculous. If you complain about a product and send a letter, you get a coupon for a free replacement. Soon, she and her best pal JoJo (Howell-Baptiste) discover the place where they make the coupons. With both women struggling financially or simply fighting off a bad marriage, they plot a scheme to get the leftover coupons and sell them to unsuspecting customers. This little venture soon becomes far more complex and massive than they’d ever expected, putting the two in deep trouble with the law.

I’ve always had an appreciation for true crime tales that are a bit on the quirky side. And yes, this is one of those flicks. The real heart of this piece is the casting. Both Bell and Howell-Baptiste are delightful together. There is a sweetness in their criminal endeavor, yet they don’t make the characters overtly cutesy. The chemistry between the two is fantastic, making it easy to root for these charming criminals. Even if you can’t get past the crime, it’s not that difficult to find a little sympathy for their plight. Had the casting not been spot on, this could’ve easily made this story far more problematic than it is.

And speaking of impressive casting choices, both Paul Walter Hauser and Vince Vaughn add terrific support. Hauser is quite good here. Coming off another solid performance in this past summer’s Cruella, the actor is certainly proving to be an impressive talent. The same is true for Vince Vaughn. The actor has taken chances recently with his excellent turn as a teenage girl/slasher killer in Freaky. If anything, the cast helps keep this true-life tale interesting, even if the amount of cute is in overload at times. It’s a charming tale, but even that charm can be a bit too much at times. Although much like the two leads, both Vince and Paul also happen to have remarkable chemistry together.

As far as the film is concerned, charming is a good description. There’s nothing new here. It’s not going to give you insight into why two women would take such huge risks. Yet this film takes this true-life crime story and offers a bit of humor to go along with it. The script and the filmmaker do a good enough job keeping the viewer invested, even if the reasoning for the two women to do what they do is a bit silly. And you have to wonder how they could get some of the people that work with them to do so, considering it’s clear they are clueless. Ultimately, the film manages to offer a bit of escapism, and sometimes that’s all you need.

Queenpins won’t change your life. It won’t bring some wonderous feeling of the magic of cinema to you while munching on popcorn and drinking a soda. But what it will do is give you a smile or two. Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste bring life to the script. And yes, the supporting players are all in fine form, especially Paul Walter Hauser in a different kind of role from what we’ve seen him in before. If you want to have a laugh and enjoy a quality flick, you could do much worse. Queenpins opens today in perhaps a theatre near you. If you are in the mood, maybe you can find a Bogo coupon to enjoy this movie with a friend at your local theatre.

Kristen Bell

GOOD

7