Well into the new dark crime comedy Greedy People, I had to check IMDb to make sure this wasn’t some movie one or both of the Coen brothers had actually made and somehow I didn’t realize before diving in. Nope, it was Potsy Ponciroli who directed, and Mike Vukadinovich who wrote it. No Coens anywhere in sight except as the clear inspirations for this entertaining movie of which the masters behind Blood Simple and Fargo would probably approve, and might even have made at the beginning of their illustrious careers.
So get this for a plot.
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New and very inexperienced cop Will (Himesh Patel) arrives in the small East Coast town of Providence for his new job as a deputy, partnered with quirky vet Terry (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). With a pregnant wife (Lily James) and their loving dog in tow it seems like a good career move. However, Will soon discovers Terry is not exactly the brightest bulb, but rather a freewheelin’ guy who gives him the 411 on the town while driving him along the beat, only to pause for a little afternoon delight with a married townie he gets it on with as Will waits in the cruiser.
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When the newbie mistakes a minor police call for an actual burglary and is unable to get Terry’s attention, he drives off and takes matters into his own hands — quite disastrously — as he enters the address given and freaks out the female resident, Virginia (Traci Lords). She hysterically overreacts to the intrusion and, after building to a physical altercation with Will, suddenly dies. Terry finally shows up at the now-crime scene where the pair also discover a stash of $1 million in cash nearby. Impulsively, they set up the scene to look like a home invasion and decide to split the cash. After all, who will ever know? Only problem is they are just one step above the Keystone Cops, and their bumbling, spur-of-the-moment decision leads to all hell breaking loose among a group of characters living up to this flick’s title.
So it turns out the money was actually left for a couple of hit men who were hired to knock off Virginia by her shrimp entrepreneur hubby (Tim Blake Nelson), who then would be free to frolic with his devious mistress (Nina Arianda). Title cards continue to introduce us to a revolving cast of loonies including Virginia’s oversexed masseuse (Simon Rex), plus hit men The Colombian (Jose Maria Yazpik) and The Irishman (Jim Gaffigan) among others. The plot thickens as one by one our cast starts getting knocked off. No one is spared except possibly the no-nonsense police captain (Uzo Aduba), who seems to be the only one in this town with any sense, if not without a motive herself.
Performance-wise, it is fun to see Gordon-Levitt let loose and play this goofball for all he’s worth. Rex is quite funny as well, continuing to show his comedic side post Red Rocket. Patel plays it helpless and straight, and James is also pulled into the scheme left to her own devices, and upset at Terry who accidentally runs over her dog (yes, this is the kind of movie unafraid to kill off even the adorable pooch). Aduba is the shrewd one, kinda the Spencer Tracy police captain role in It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World if you need a clue. Nelson gets some choice screen time as well, but was better served by Ponciroli in his terrific offbeat 2021 indie Western Old Henry that actually might also have owed the Coens for inspiration from their 2018 Wild West anthology The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, which also featured Nelson, but I digress.
Even with all its familiarity, Greedy People, which delights in piling up the bodies in near-slapstick fashion, does deliver a satisfying payoff as it were, no more — but no less — than a good summertime diversion at the movies, especially for those who miss the cinematic heyday when the Coens made this particular wackadoo crime comedy a memorable genre all by itself.
Producers are Shannon Houchins, Ponciroli, Zack Schiller, David Boies, Chris Parker and Dylan Sellers.
Title: Greedy People
Distributor: Lionsgate
Release Date: August 23, 2024
Director: Potsy Ponciroli
Screenwriter: Mike Vukadinovich
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Himesh Patel, Lily James, Tim Blake Nelson, Uzo Aduba, Tracy Lords, Nina Arianda, Jim Gaffigan, Jose Maria Yazpik, Joey Lauren Adams, Simon Rex
Rating: R
Running time: 1 hr 53 mins