When opportunity knocks, don’t answer the door; it might be some Mormon gangsters! Down-on-his-luck Patrick is barely scraping by as he works the shopping carts in the same car park he lives in. With poor credit history, a bank won’t approve him for a loan to buy a house so he has no choice but to sleep in the back of his van. Although he is motivated to get a house, Patrick doesn’t seem too motivated to get the rest of his life in order. This frustrates his best friend Donnie who is settling down into faux domestic bliss with his girlfriend, Julia.
But alas, there seems to be trouble in paradise as Julia is growing increasingly impatient with Donnie and the amount of time he spends with dead-beat Patrick. And that’s only about to get worse.
Desperate to help his friend, Donnie takes Patrick to see a man about a dog. The man being a loan shark named Jared and the dog being a loan for a house. Jared is thoroughly unimpressed by Patrick’s monetary situation. He offers to do Patrick a “favour”: instead of a down payment, Patrick just has to do one job for him. Donnie even gets in on the deal too, asking for a lump sum instead. All they have to do is steal something from someone. Except that something is a flash drive filled with millions in Bitcoin and that someone is a vicious Mormon gangster.
What ensues is a game of cat and mouse between the two friends and the church of the latter-day saints. When the pair finally realise what it is they’ve stolen for Jared, their responses divide them. Patrick says they should stick to the plan – he just wants his house. But Donnie is thinking much bigger. Visions of Mexico and a life filled with freedom and bliss float in his mind. Who will get the final say? Patrick, Donnie, or Donnie’s increasingly paranoid girlfriend?
Generally, the pacing is good throughout. This is mainly propelled by the exciting action scenes which are extremely well executed. Outside of this excitement, there isn’t a tonne of plot development to push the narrative along. Thankfully, the film doesn’t suffer too much for this as the moments of comedy also keep engagement afloat. Some of the issues raised feel like they’re edging towards social commentary. The fact that obtaining a place to live is the motivating factor for a heist speaks prominently to the state of the housing market and how people are kept from accessing even the most basic human amenities. However, nothing ever really follows through in this vein. The film roots itself firmly in the action comedy genre and the motive for the heist almost pales into insignificance. For me, this took some of the heart and emotion out of the film as it becomes more about two guys bein’ dudes and getting their asses handed to them by men in ties. Which, don’t get me wrong, is very fun.
I think the main area where the film falls down is in the oft-used trope of the overbearing girlfriend. Painted as an antagonistic force from the beginning, Julia’s main point of contention is that she wants to spend more time with her boyfriend and for him to not be getting mixed up in nefarious business with Patrick. Not exactly the most far out concept. Aside from this, she does have some paranoid tendencies. But unfortunately her character isn’t developed beyond “bitches be crazy”, meaning this area of the movie feels somewhat stunted in comparison to the rest. This is a shame as Julia could have brought an interesting dynamic to the film’s heist plotline, but instead she just served to magnify the “bros before hoes” mentality.
Despite these issues, the film is certainly action packed with a comedic twist. The creativity and the thought behind production is impressive. I especially enjoyed the creative cinematography which was used throughout. The performances of Jon Waters as Patrick and Quinn Aikele as Donnie are admirable. They work very well on screen as a slapstick due, with Patrick’s brains and Donnie’s bumbling buffoonery translating to some very comedic moments. Anthony Hill as Tim is brilliant. He captures the dual dynamic of a Mormon gangster with surprising ease. Amanda Coryat as Julia works well within the constraints of her role, but it would have been nice to see her talents utilised more fully. Overall, the scope of the film is truly impressive, and, as director Rusty Rehl’s first feature, showcases some excellent talent all across the board.
Trapped in a world of perpetual fun and inter-species love ruled by a universal Mother, a teenage boy crosses the forbidden frontier to save his childhood sweetheart as an absurd election and a deadly virus lead to chaos and violence.
