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Screener Squad: Emily The Criminal

Emily The Criminal Movie Review

EMILY THE CRIMINAL MOVIE REVIEW

There are several ways to get out of debt in America. For instance you could get a second or third job, take out a loan or a second loan, or, ya know, start a career in credit card fraud that helps you pay off your $75,000 student loans while forcing you to mix it up with murderers, meth heads, and car thieves. What we’re saying here is there are options. In Emily the Criminal, Aubrey Plaza plays the titular Emily in this dramatic thriller and chooses, out of sheer desperation, the credit card fraud route. What follows is a tense and slow spiral downward into the underworld of Los Angeles crime. But before you go into this thinking you’re going to be on the edge of your seat, know that this is not an action movie. This isn’t Drive. This is a sad look at the lengths people are forced to go when the system is just impossibly stacked against you. The America of the Boomer generation doesn’t exist anymore. You can’t just go to college, get a career, get married, buy a house, and have kids without an insurmountable mountain of debt being collected. Sarah Jane, Harmoni, Lewayne, and T.C. discuss the nuances of the broken systems that this film presents and walk away wondering what ever happened to the American Dream. Hard to make this one funny, but we promise insightful conversation and at least one rimshot worthy joke.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE/TRAILER

DIRECTED BY: John Patton Ford

STARRING: Aubrey Plaza, Theo Rossi, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Gina Gershon, Jonathan Avigdori, Bernardo Badillo, Brandon Sklenar

 

YOUR REVIEWERS

 

T.C. De Witt (Screener Squad)

T.C. De Witt is a multi-awarded writer/director originally from Wisconsin and now based in Los Angeles. His life has been devoted to the arts since he was a child. He’s been a stage performer, playwright, stand-up comic, film and television actor, radio DJ, podcaster published author, recorded musician, and comic writer/illustrator. He is now a professional screenwriter and has been thriving for the past decade, regularly offering his talents to production studios in LA, Chicago, Milwaukee, and internationally in Sydney and Poland. He’s provided content for Amazon Prime, Netflix, and several YouTube partners. His films have screened internationally, and his stageplays have been performed across the country. In the last ten years, he has directed 57 films, 23 episodes of his series The One Minute Rewatch, 300+ episodes of podcasts, and his multi-award-winning short film Screen: Righter screened at the Festival de Cannes in 2016. He has released two feature films, The Princess Knight and A Christmas Sunset. He thrives on collaboration and the thrill of sharing stories in all forms.

 

 

Sarah Jane (Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)

Sarah Jane was born and raised in Southern California but currently calls Austin, TX her home. She’s seen over 5,700 movies so far with zero plans on stopping. She has a penchant for all things exploitation, and she loves Godzilla with all her heart. Her favorite films are Deep Red, Le Samourai, and Miller’s Crossing. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s busy herding her four cats, her husband, and her 11-year-old kiddo. She’s been a contributor to TalkFilmSociety, Daily Grindhouse, FThisMovie!, Looper, and the Austin Chronicle. You can find her on Twitter and Letterboxd at @fookthis.

 

 

Harmoni Anderson (Screener Squad, Highly Suspect Reviews, Unstabletop Gaming)

Harmoni is a mermaid-haired, millennial, rum drinking, Section 31, Slytherin (who’s divorced J.K. Rowling) preschool/nursery teacher and multi genre geek who also loves all things film, tv, fashion, makeup, and an embarrassingly huge BTS stan. Like really embarrassing. As in, mention them and then sit back and watch the insanity. Harmoni likes being able to game and talk movies/TV with people that aren’t 3 feet tall or all that demanding of her. Plus she can curse at us and not get fired….so bonus!

 

 

Lewayne White (Screener Squad)

Lewayne’s earliest memories are of watching movies and reading comics, which instilled in him a sense of wonder, a vivid imagination, and unrealistic expectations. It also means he spends a lot of time watching movies, writing scripts for them, and trying to get them made. He lives in the middle of middle America after landing there as a child, and has remained there mainly because he hates packing.

 

 

 

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