Free Samples

source: Free Samples

Just watching it now, the fact that I'm not waiting for it to finish is probably a give away. I really did feel like I was watching a tasteless impersonation of Winona Ryder, but without any of the skill. It's a boring indie film, the plot is not believable, the main character is a depressing early 20s law school drop out. The incidental characters seem to become the centre of attention for a large percentage of the film, but there's nothing to hold your attention,just ridiculous writing, trying to be clever, misses the mark, I even felt like it was just smart ass lines being spewed out, with each character trying to out do each other. For the people rating it higher than a 2, they are associated with the film, or brain dead.

A delightful indy film, quirky and unique. Great cast of veteran actors (even the young ones have massive quality credits)! I've noticed on films that LA's Eben Costbar is associated with (such as Karma Cafe, The Hammer, and others), a consistent warmth and high-quality aspect to them. The leads were funny,but believable, and the pace was kept brisk by a constant parade of short (funny) scenes by various characters. And you don't find many films around which the central theme is ice cream! (Did make me hungry for it, by the end!) Nice job, folks! A good one to go to or rent when you want a light mood.

Liked it quite a bit. Jess 'Teeth' Weixler was the reason to watch this, and she proved to be well worth the effort. I didn't expect her being cooped up in an ice cream truck pretty much all of the time (hadn't read the synopsis), but it had this 'Clerks' vibe to it and that worked out just fine. Weixler puts in a very capable performance, as does most of the rest of the cast. There's plenty going on, especially if you consider the dull environment, and most of the dialogues and scenes are quite entertaining, ranging from funny hangover talk all the way to heartfelt heartache. I especially liked the supporting role of Halley Feifer, but also Tippi Hedren, Jesse Eisenberg and Wendy Shapero are worth mentioning. The story of 'changing souls' was great, except for the minor detail that if they actually exchanged souls, 'Tex' would now be Keith... A big 7 out of 10.

Pretty much, this film is about the wonderful, quirky Jess Weixler. When she acts opposite Tippi Hedren you see the full array of her facial expressions. The story doesn't move very fast, nor is there much of one, but if you like films like "Juno" then you should like this, although it's not in the same class as the aforementioned. The somewhat vacuous storyline and the rather dull setting, IE a bashed up ice cream van in a sub-urban parking lot are non-the-less brightened up by the excellent Jesse Weixler. If you like your movies full of action and special effects then forget this one.

This one-set Indy tries very hard to be sharp and mordant and timely. The trouble is that nothing about the characters or their situations rings true. The main set is an ice cream truck located in what looks like a borderline ghetto where the heroine must give away free samples of chocolate and vanilla, nothing else. The workers and everyone in the neighborhood seem to already know that the pseudo ice cream is horrible. So what are they really doing there? In what alternate universe would this actually happen? Apparently in the same universe where a self-absorbed Cali-blonde Stanford law student would be SHOCKED, SHOCKED I say, to learn that 5 years after she left home, her dad moved out and took up with a trophy bimbo. That evidently never happens in alternate universe Z, so of course it sends our heroine into a drunken tailspin where she must engage in contrived sardonic banter with every unlikely walk-on character who ambles by her pseudo ice cream truck. Sadly, none of these encounters feels more forced or contrived than the heroine's confrontation with her unwanted fiancée. After 90 minutes of this I yearned to get back to our universe where Cheech and Chong would have a very good business plan for that ice cream truck working the ghetto and where all their customers' curious demands for "stamps" would make sense.

She's a Stanford Law School dropout, ostensibly taking a year off to figure out why law school isn't motivating her, and she ends up sitting in an ice cream truck for a day, giving away free samples to cover for a friend who has to do an intervention for her brother. Sound familiar? I'm sorry to hear that. Free Samples is a look into the lonely, solitary journey each of us needs to take to find out what might be the calling to end all callings. It's also a humorous attempt to show that nerds are totally enticing, weirdos are human, and the elderly have stories worth slowing down to hear. Women should love this movie. It has it all. Thus begins my Free Samples Movie Review. Jillian, our dropout, is played by Jess Weixler, whom you may recognize from the TV series The Good Wife. She is in three movies this year, and judging from her brilliant performance in Free Samples, she will be a household name before too long. She owns the screen, not in that Julia Roberts way, but rather in the way of a normal, good-looking person. Sarcasm drips from her lips like honey, providing perspective rather than destroying it. She lets her guard down just twice during the film; once when she is listening to the tales of a former movie star, and again at the end when she agrees to allow a man named Tex (played by Jessie Eisenberg, whom we all have grown to love and trust) to seduce her into giving him a chance. Both moments scream through the rest of her otherwise reserved performance, finally letting us see what is going on inside her shell. There is a point in the movie when she is crying about a lover who has just dumped her, and she admits that the reason she is crying is because she cannot believe she wasted so much time on someone she didn't really care about — and certainly never loved. It was a relief to see her articulate on the screen the dirty secret many of us carry, a feeling that is so real to so many women. Settle, we tell ourselves. Be comfortable. Accept boredom. Bury the passion. Oh, the lives we can lead without fighting! We never see the ice cream. I wanted to see the ice cream. I wanted to see more of the inside of the truck. I want to know more about what she might have become. I am clueless. And while I'm sure the ambiguous ending was all part of the point of the movie, I want to know there is more than just the hope she can end up with a good guy like Tex. (He really is a good guy, isn't he?) I want to know that she will find something to be passionate about, something that will motivate her to action. What will she do with her days after the reel ends? The direction is great — there is none. Jay Gammill, who looks like he's ten, has a fresh approach to direction, and it works. Just point the camera at the day's events unfolding around a truck. Nice. You feel as if there is a chair from KMart set up in front of the truck and you are sitting there with popcorn in your lap, watching a young woman crankily giving out samples of bad ice cream and the lessons she and those sampling learn along the way. Fabulous. See it.

This film has such a refreshingly light touch for a film rich in the wisdom we can glean from the most mundane things. It is lovingly acted out by the whole cast, has real humour, real pathos, and seemingly real people, based, as it largely is, in a car park lot. Now the plot may not sound promising, but here goes. Hungover Jillian (Weixler) is asked by a friend, Nancy (Feiffer) to help her out for a morning by doing her job giving out free samples of ice cream from a van. The film covers the day in question and all Jillian's encounters, and there is a moment in the film roughly half way when the dialogue between Jillian and A.N. Other is, for me, is its real, and very loaded, premise. And that is why I loved it because there is wisdom embodied in what follows. The writing and script are as good as you could wish for, with a Tippi Hedren appearance as an ageing movie star to add a touch of spice to the ingredients, and a rich subtlety to the proceedings. Jess Weixler is perfectly cast, with a whole range of faces to accompany her pregnant pauses, or sharp responses to being baited, but she is so nearly upstaged by Ms Hedren's appearance as Betty, the ageing movie star. There is nothing pretentious about this film and it is so very easy on eyes, and ears whilst only demanding you think abut things if you really want to. Very warmly recommended.

'Free Samples' is not a masterpiece, but it's a simple, understated spark of quirkiness and brilliance, without doubt. Not only is it hard not to like this film, it's hard not to like the sarcastic, drop-out Jillian, played by Jess Weixler, who gives a faultless, genuine performance. One thing I find great is how we know nothing about Jillian initially, but we gradually learn more and more as she sells more and more ice-cream through the day. Jesse Eisenberg gives another cool performance of his and the ever-wonderful Tippi Hedren gives a brilliant touch to this delight. This indie piece shows how so much can hit you throughout a day of serving chocolate or vanilla ice-cream samples. With subtle emotional input and very funny scenes, 'Free Samples' is a desert not to be turned down.

This was definitely one of my favorite films I have seen this year. I had no idea what to expect before I started watching, but the storyline was compelling and I kept wanting to watch more. The writer Jim Beggarly and director Jay Gammill made quite intriguing combo! Can't wait to see this director's next film... he seems like he might be someone to keep an eye on! And of course the cast was epic. Jess Weixler as Jillian, and Jesse Eisenberg as Tex were addicting to watch. I had never seen Jess Weixler before, but I am sure I will see her in many more things in the future! Not too many things to say without calling myself out on "spoiler alert"... bottom line is that I was both impressed and inspired.