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10 Items or Less
ThinkFilm


6.5

based on 20 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 9 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

MPAA RATING: R for language

Starring Morgan Freeman, Paz Vega, Jonah Hill, Alexandra Berardi, Bobby Cannavale, Anne Dudek, and Jennifer Echols

While researching a role as a supermarket manager, a major movie star (Freeman) befriends a feisty store clerk (Vega), and the initially mismatched pair soon discovers common ground.

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Brad Silberling
DIRECTED BY:	Brad Silberling
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: April 24, 2007 Theatrical: December 1, 2006
RUNNING TIME:	82 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

An amiable demonstration of how two charismatic actors and a relaxed writer-director (Brad Silberling) can squeeze an enjoyable movie out of practically nothing.

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

Proceeds at that pace to an ending that is as inevitable as it is poignant.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Ten Items or Less is not landmark cinema nor is it deeply thought-provoking, but it's smart, funny, knowledgeable about life and people, and a crowd-pleaser.

Chicago Tribune Jessica Reaves

Moves at an agreeable, meandering pace but never loses its verve or its sharp humor.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

This is a picture with nothing to prove, and not all that much to say, but its modesty and good humor make it hard to resist.

Los Angeles Times Michael Ordona

10 Items or Less is not deep, but it's a charming enough diversion to spend a day with two likable people.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

It's nice to see a bit of intimate, offhanded moviemaking that focuses on actors, as opposed to stars.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Freeman is clearly enjoying himself, but his charisma and heavyweight presence can't quite redeem this featherweight concoction.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

10 Items or Less is nearly an acting class exercise, except for the fact that these two have long since graduated.

Variety Robert Koehler

Interplay between a jaunty Freeman as an unemployed movie star and the magnetic Paz Vega as a no-nonsense grocery store checker gives pic humanity and lift.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

By the end, 10 Items Or Less has the obnoxiousness of a vanity project. Freeman is having a better time than we are.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White

So slight that it barely qualifies as a movie, 10 Items or Less squeaks by on the charm of its leads.

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

Ends up having all the satisfying substance of a supermarket impulse item.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

It's just a little film that strives to be likable, and is less so than it might have been.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Every potentially worthwhile or amusing moment in writer-director Brad Silberling's 10 Items or Less could be told in 10 minutes or less, with credits included.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Strictly remainder-bin material.

TV Guide Ken Fox

It all feels like an insubstantial short that's been stretched to the breaking point.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

I don't know if it's ickier to assume that writer-director Brad Silberling (Moonlight Mile) thinks the culture-clash jokes he pushes in 10 Items or Less are charming because they're earnest, or because they're tongue-in-cheek. Either way, this sale is void.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

A good-natured but failed experiment in meeting cute -- indie-movie style.

Village Voice Nathan Lee

10 Items or Less is a case study in cluelessness.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.5 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Noel D. gave it a4:
This movie didn't really seem to have much of a point. Morgan Freeman comes off like he's off his medication. I also find it hard to believe Paz Vega has no friends. It comes off as a 90-minute touch-feely slice of life that is supposed to make us feel good, but as a movie it completely lacks. I almost turned it off after about 20 minutes. Even Jonah Hill manages to be unfunny.

Francisco P gave it a7:
Interesting to watch Freeman work. Cute movie. More like an appetizer than a meal. But, like the salt and pepper calamari at PF Changs, it's a pretty good appetizer.

Peer L. gave it a3:
This is a weirdly uneven story that doesn't know if it's a farce, a comedy, a drams, or witty urban slice of life. I couldn't take it seriously and it is a prime example of a writer who cannot or will not grapple capably with the material. It is therefore a parody of itself and very indulgent. Give it a miss.

PnArdy PnArdy gave it a2:
Only watched it for about 10 minutes, then fast forwarded to the end skipping large parts. Nothing interesting, low budget urban drama with Morgan Freeman. All action takes place in a small food market.

Charles B. gave it a9:
Delightful movie on location in Carson! Funny and heartfelt moments.

Chad S. gave it a9:
It's a canny move on the filmmaker's part that Morgan Freeman is never identified explicitly as himself(unlike Maggie Cheung in Olivier Assayas' "Irma Vep"); as the A-list star of films such as "Driving Mrs. Daisy" and "Million Dollar Baby", or else, his fame would chew every scene with condescension, when the Academy Award-winning actor picks the brains of ordinary working stiffs at their menial jobs(as research for an independent project that his character is mullling over). As Freeman, his interest in Scarlet(Paz Vega), an uneducated but street-wise checkout girl, might come off as feigned(no matter how likable he comes across), because his social and economic status would be too overbearing. "10 Items or Less" is a slight, a very slight confection that gives Freeman a much-needed break from playing the role of an authority figure, the guy who takes charge when the straits are dire. This is his best change-of-pace role since Neil LaBute's "Nurse Betty". And Vega(the star of "Sex and Lucia"), who de-emphasizes her god-given beauty in a similar way as Halle Berry did in "Monster's Ball", uses this opportunity to show that she can more than hold her own with an A-list star such as Freeman(Adam Sandler, whom she co-starred with in "Spanglish" doesn't quite count). Scarlet never feels inferior or servile towards this notable industry professional, even though it's implied that she should when the cashier drives the actor back to his lofty Brentwood residence. That's when it hit me: "10 Items or Less" is kind of like Morgan Freeman's "Roman Holiday". This film is an undervalued gem.

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10 Items or Less ThinkFilm

10 Items or Less
ThinkFilm