Queenpins (2021)

Directed by Aron Gaudet & Gita Pullapilly. Starring Kristen Bell, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Paul Walter Hauser, Vince Vaughn, Joel McHale, Dayo Okeniyi, Bebe Rexha, Greta Oglesby, Francisco J. Rodriguez, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino, Eduardo Franco, Jack McBrayer. [R]

Bored suburban coupon-clippers Bell and Howell-Baptiste team up for a scam that (illegally) earns them millions by defrauding corporations with stolen coupons, but there’s no way these half-witted amateurs can outfox uptight, obsessive loss prevention officer Hauser and dogged postal inspector Vaughn forever. The quirky idea looks promising on page, but the tone and energy are too inconsistent, and it’s too hard to believe that these one-dimensional petty crooks could ever become so successful; the script even strangely seems to glorify their smug behavior without suitable motivation (sure, Bell’s an unhappy housewife who wants a baby, but her personality needs more shading than “perky”). Splits time almost equally between the criminal enterprise and the investigation, ultimately short-changing both aspects, but the manhunt becomes the more appealing angle by virtue of Hauser’s hapless and impotent frustration. Ben Stiller served as one of the executive producers.

50/100