Delayed Reaction: Buzzard

The Pitch: There needs to be a story about a con man who isn't as good at it as he thinks he is.

A small time con man keeps getting knocked down as he attempts to game the system.

I have a limit on how much I can dislike a lead character. The limit is pretty high. It has to be to enjoy shows like It's Always Sunny and Seinfeld. I do have a limit though. Buzzard blasts past that limit.

I think it's fair to assume people aren't that aware of this movie. It's about Marty. He's a temp at a bank and spends most of his time cooking up schemes to cheat the system. He closes and opens bank accounts to collect on special offers and returns office equipment he ordered through work in order to pocket the money. He's an all-around unlikable dude who uses the kindness of others and thinks that he's a lot smarter than he really is. The film begins with a string of relative successes for him, but quickly he gets in over his head. He gets caught on a couple of his schemes and becomes convinced that there's a manhunt for him. This leads to increasingly desperate circumstances. Oh, and he has a Freddy Kruger glove that he made.

Beyond the opening scene, I wasn't on board for any of this. Marty is so lame and such a prick. I get what the movie was doing. Marty is being mocked by the film throughout. It's a black comedy that plays on Marty being pretty incompetent. He's more lucky than smart. The only reason why so many of his cons work is because no one else is bothering to try them. Literally anyone can get a free coupon for Hot Pockets by calling their complaint line. Most people don't believe it's worth the effort. I spent a lot of the movie annoyed by how he kept getting away with things and how he's the definitive "This is why we can't have nice things" kind of person. I got way too worked up whenever he used the Freddy Kruger hand for anything. Not only was something bad going to happen, but it was going to be something I won't want to be looking at when it happens. This movie got me on a gut level. The parts that were meant to be awkwardly funny, like anything with his work friend Derek, only irritated me. I can see how some people could really dig this movie. I didn't.

Verdict (?): Strongly Don't Recommend