Ted (Michael Keaton) is the best salesman of his company. He is confident as hell, very cocky and has a dirty mouth. He doesn’t tolerate failure or stupidity. His co-workers hate him.
When his boss asks him to take Jaime under his wing, he is less than pleased but his boss is desperate. Jaime has been transferred from Ohio but different rules apply in New York and he needs a mentor.
Jamie (Brendan Fraser) is the exact opposite of Ted – he is not unsure of himself, he is extremely polite and friendly. He is also more than willing to follow Ted. Ted hates every minute of this, until he meets Jaime’s beautiful fiancée Belisa (Amber Valletta). Belisa seems to be very fond of Jaime and is worried about his performance and him. Ted senses the trouble: he is attracted to Belisa. She is not only pretty but she seems to be having more in common with Ted than she has with Jamie- plus, she’s attracted to him as well. And you can’t really blame her, as Brendan Fraser looks and acts like an incompetent teddy bear for most of the movie. This results in Belisa and Ted having a passionate affair. As Belisa falls for Ted and starts getting cold with Jamie, Jaime starts to lose it and from then on things get some very interesting twists…
The movie is an interesting and thrilling drama (or a dramatic thriller, depends on which parts of the movie you are considering) with absolutely top-notch acting; especially from Michael Keaton. Brendan Fraser and Amber Valletta are also very good. I loved the script too. It is smart, easy to follow yet grabbing and it successfully builds the tension. After all, appearances can be deceptive. Give it a go to see what can be done with a modest budget and good actors.
Written and directed by Michael Caleo, 2006.
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