(USA, 92 min.)
Written and directed by Michael Walker
Starring: Parker Posey, Eric Mabuis, Annie Parisse.
Price Check is a
shopping spree of Parker Posey goodness. The Queen of the Indies once again
enjoys a great role at bargain bin prices and offers another fun, manic
performance. Price Check could have
easily gone the way of a clearance sale with another actress in the lead, but
Posey’s charm gives the film a decent shelf life.
With the presence of Posey, one can only imagine what a
filmmaker like, say, Hal Hartley could have done to draw out the satirical
elements in Price Check.
Writer/director Michael Walker’s plain, low-budget beige/grey environment seems
indebted to Hartley’s Jersey-set satires, as it crafts a semi-self-aware farce
that sees its players corrupted by ambition, trouble, and desire. It’s droll
situational humour played out against a fluorescent din. Price Check is Hartley at a discount, though, as it offers an
enjoyable musing on 21st century values—capitalism, the family, and
such—without treading too far into scathing critique or clever comedy.
Like many a good Hartley film, however, Price Check is worth the time for Parker Posey alone. Fans of the
actress should enjoy watching Posey bring her brittle character to life. (She
even sings!) Susan is a ferociously unlikable character thanks to Posey’s
cutting sarcasm and hilariously dry take on the corporate-grade bitch boss. Few
actors can make jokes about groceries sound funny, and Posey puts the situation
humour in the cart and takes it to the checkout. Thanks to Parker Posey, Price Check should avoid handing out any
refunds.
Rating: ★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
Price Check is now available on home video.