Search - Outside Sales on DVD

Great indie comedy. The way movies should be done.

asplatt | 06/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great indie film. I also saw it at the Vail Film Festival. It was my favorite film that I saw there. It reminds you that you don't need $50 million to make a great, fun, funny and really enjoyable movie. It just takes good writing, acting and directing, which this film has. Watch it to have some good laughs and watch it to learn how to make a good indie film."

DVD VERDICT REVIEW

Jack C. | Colorado | 06/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Outside Sales is a well-written comedy, smart enough to wring outrageous hilarity out of the most mundane settings. This is not a glamorous job for beautiful people. It's a world where poor souls are only as good as their sales figures. Veterans of the sales force will laugh and groan with recognition at the situations and conversations revolving around closing deals. It may be all too familiar territory, but the film handles things extremely well.



The performances are painfully real, the situations are appropriately comedic, and the script moves at a good clip. Tricia O'Kelly and Lucas Fleischer do the lion's share of the work, both making us believe in their relationship which goes from hate to love and back again. The supporting characters fill out their roles nicely too. We get the fat guy, the womanizer, the ditzy girl, and the sleazy boss, but all work beyond cliche.



Outside Sales is a small comedy, but one that somehow makes the commonplace work. The film was a festival favorite, but really didn't receive a huge theatrical release even in the art house world. It's a nice find on DVD, one that seems especially well suited for the small screen.



The DVD looks fine with a crisp transfer, displaying a natural color palette with some shimmer on busy office outfits. The surround mix is centered on the two front speakers, but does the job. There are some truly nice extras including deleted scenes, botched takes, and a very fun director and cast commentary. Sporting more extras than what you'd find on most major releases, this is a good package for an indie feature.



Outside Sales is a testament to what you can do with a small budget, good actors, and a smart script. It takes the world of payroll sales, and blows it up into lunacy. It's the rare romantic comedy that both men and women will appreciate, and a must for anybody who's job description includes a quota or commission. A fun little feature that deserves to be seen, closing the deal and then some. And it's a hell of a lot more fun than Glengarry Glen Ross or Boiler Room.



check out full review at

http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/outsidesales.php"

Don't waste your time

M. Troisi | Boston, MA | 08/18/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I guarantee that every one of the 5-star reviews below are the work of concern-trolls via whichever production house picked up and distributed this awful, awful piece of garbage. They are so generic and banal that they could have been written about anything.

When I read the blurb about the movie on my Netflix envelope I was really excited. I was hoping for a potential Office Space, or something similar. Sadly, this movie came nowhere near Office Space. This movie wouldn't have come near that even if Office Space was written, directed and produced by a toddler.

All the characters were contrived, there was nothing that resembled a plot, even the romantic relationship which tried to be the center of the movie was completely unbelievable. The acting was so poor that I rarely even found myself following the story. It felt more like I was stuck watching a bad improv group at some off-off-Broadway dungeon. The only time I even murmured something that resembled a laugh was at the joke "It's 2pm! I haven't left work this late since 1996!" or something to that effect. I guess that was the only one they could afford.

I apologize to the people involved in this film for such a harsh review, but I feel that it is necessary so that they don't subject anyone to something like this in the future. I guess I'm also mad that I wasted an evening watching this horrid monstrosity. The only redeeming quality was that I watched it with friends and we were able to have a somewhat decent MST3K session. But for anyone who might be considering watching this movie (especially alone!!) I would say STAY AWAY; pull Office Space off your shelf and watch that again. Or go watch a parked car."

The first DVD I've thrown away before finishing

Daryl Morris | 08/23/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I am amazed that anyone could say the acting was good, or ANYTHING was good about this crappy movie I wasted a whole $4 on. Don't be fooled by the hype."