10 Items or Less

Comedy, Drama

Morgan Freeman	Him
Paz Vega	Scarlet
Bobby Cannavale	Bobby
Jennifer Echols	Tracy with an E
Jonah Hill	The Kid
Alexandra Berardi	Mop Lady
Anne Dudek	Other Checker
Vivianne Nacif	(voice)
Leonardo Nam	Sales Kid
Scott Norris	Bison Member
Hector Running-Hawk	Squeezing Customer
Kumar Pallana	Lee
Jim Parsons	Receptionist

Director	Brad Silberling
Producer	Morgan Freeman; Julie Lynn; Lori McCreary; Brad Silberling; Jill Goularte
Writer	Brad Silberling
Cinematography	Phedon Papamichael
Musician	Antonio Pinto
User Credit 1	Michael Kahn
User Credit 2	Isis Mussenden

Once the center of Hollywood, an aging actor finds that his fear of failure has made his career dry up, and he’s now forced to consider a role in a small independent movie. While researching for the role, he stumbles into Scarlet, a spitfire check out clerk at a Latino community market. Soon abandoned by his driver, the world famous actor must rely on Scarlet to lead him back to his side of the tracks. This trek through Los Angeles features richly unexpected situations, chance encounters, and personal revelation that neither character could ever have anticipated.

Morgan Freeman isn't really in every movie that's been made recently; it only seems that way. And considering the variety of roles he's had, it's perhaps appropriate that he plays himself in 10 Items or Less. Well, not exactly--Freeman's character has no name, but he is a recognizable actor who's also known as a voice-over specialist, and several references are made to a movie he made with Ashley Judd (although its title is neither Kiss the Girls nor High Crimes, two actual Freeman-Judd flicks). As directed and written by Brad Silberling (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, plus a long list of TV credits), the actor is considering taking a part as a store manager in an indie production (his first film role in four years--nudge nudge, wink wink). His research brings him to Archie's Ranch Market, a grim spot in featureless Carson, California, where he meets Scarlet (Paz Vega, Spanglish), who handles the titular check-out line, a dead-end job which, added to her terrible marriage, makes for one unhappy rancher. Finding himself stranded at the store (his driver has vanished, he can't get his agent on the phone, and he doesn't even know his own home number), the gregarious actor takes the feisty, smart-mouthed Scarlet under his wing, prepping her for an interview for a better job, pitching in when she takes her Gremlin to a car wash, helping her pick out some new duds at Target (where the rich movie star discovers the many wonders of discount retailing), and generally bringing her out of her funk; the two bond, and she drives him back to Brentwood. Story-wise, that's about it, which makes the film almost entirely character-driven. That's not a bad thing by any means, but despite Freeman's and Vega's winning performances, 10 Items or Less is little more than a slight, amusing diversion. --Sam Graham