10 Items or Less (2006)

You Are Who You Meet

What a charming, sweet little comedy.

When a famous actor (Morgan Freeman) considers breaking his four year dry spell, he decides to research a role in a small film he may be interested in accepting. He's dropped off at a Latino market in south LA by the annoying kid brother (Jonah Hill) of the film's young director. The actor -- referred to in the credits as 'Him' -- plans to spend about an hour observing the market manager and what happens in such a shop.

In doing so, he can't help but to be entranced by the lovely young 10-items-or-less cashier, Scarlet Morales (Paz Vega), who runs the check-out rather rigidly and seems to have a sense of desperation and futility.

Over the span of a few hours in market, he grows even more curious about her and her life and why she is the way she is. When her shift is over and his driver hasn't picked him up, 'Him' asks if she can help him get home. She begrudginly agrees but first she needs to swing by her trailer park home where she has yet another spat with her husband (Bobby Cannavale) and his pregnant girlfriend.

'Him' observes it all. He already knows she's going to a new job interview (which he calls an audition) as she's changed into an attractive blouse. But when the blouse is damaged in the spat and she despairs about the poor impression she'll make, he tells her he'll buy her a new one.

And that's how we get to the Big Movie Star's first encounter with Venture and $8 designer T-shirts that are like the ones he pays $100 for and buying a mop because a demonstrator convinced him it was a good deal and all the other every day occurances in the lives of people significantly not of the Big Movie Star class.

Meanwhile, Scarlet is surprised at how he can spend so much and just put it on his Diner's Club card.

All the while he's trying to instill confidence in Scarlet -- confidence so she knows she can get a better job and live a life free of her sleazy husband.

After a fun trip through the car wash -- to spiff up her old car -- he goes with her to the interview/audition and waits patiently in the outer office.

What follows as she drives him to his mansion in Brentwood is a serious bonding of these two people from different lives, perhaps it could be considered a romance of a different nature.

Written and directed by Brad Silberling, Morgan Freeman is executive director. Unbelievable, this was entirely shot in just under 15 days for $2 million -- an amazing thing in Gollywood.

Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman have tiny roles.

The relatively sparse music throughout lovingly enhances the film.

Don't miss the outtakes at the end of the film and the Special Features on the DVD I saw offered interesting insight into the film.

Rated R for language (which is a darn shame as the only foul language I heard was one single F-bomb).