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Super Sucker

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Super Sucker
Film poster
Directed byJeff Daniels
Written byJeff Daniels
Story by
  • Jeff Daniels
  • Guy Sanville
Produced byTom Spiroff
Starring
CinematographyRichard Brauer[3]
Edited byRobert Tomlinson
Music byAlto Reed
Production
company
Purple Rose Films
Release dates
  • February 24, 2002 (2002-02-24) (Jackson, MI premiere)
  • January 24, 2003 (2003-01-24) (US release)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Super Sucker is a 2002 film featuring Jeff Daniels, Harve Presnell, Matt Letscher, and Dawn Wells.

Plot

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Fred Barlow (Daniels) and Winslow Schnaebelt (Presnell), are the heads of two different door-to-door vacuum cleaner distributors, with salesmen who are competing for the same territory. Their rivalry becomes so fierce that the president of the manufacturer of the product, Mr. Suckerton, decides that for the good of the company, the town will have only one group of sales representatives. Desperate, and always the underdog, Barlow suggests a winner-take-all sales contest to determine who gets the territory. Well behind Schnaebelt from the very start, Barlow's sales surge when he learns of his wife's non-traditional use of, the circular nap nipper,[4] a "homemaker's little helper",[5][6] a long forgotten vacuum attachment.

Cast

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  • Jeff Daniels as Fred Barlow
  • Matt Letscher as Howard Butterworth
  • Harve Presnell as Winslow Schnaebelt
  • Dawn Wells as herself
  • John Seibert as Shelby
  • Guy Sanville as Leonard
  • Kate Packham as Darlene
  • Sandra Birch as Rhonda
  • Michelle Mountain[1][2] as Bunny Barlow
  • Will Young as Clifford

Production

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Daniels made[7] Super Sucker in Jackson, Michigan, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada,[8] with Michigan performers[1] and technicians.[9]

Release

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Super Sucker opened on 24 January 2003 (Super Bowl weekend), on 125 screens in Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, Kansas, and Missouri,[9] but never obtained national distribution.[10] Purple Rose is the distribution company and the distributor.[9]

"It didn’t do as well as we had hoped when we released it in the Midwest. We had hoped it would do better, but distributing a film, particularly by yourself, is always a dicey enterprise. The video and DVD deal is in place, so we project it will make its money back. Domestic theatrical distribution is just a very difficult thing." — Jeff Daniels[11]

Reception

[edit]

Super Sucker won the 2002 Audience Award for Best Feature at HBO's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado.[3][12]

"I haven't a clue what this movie is about." — Christopher Borrelli, film critic, Toledo Blade.[13]

"I cannot recommend this movie highly enough. Jeff Daniels has crafted a comedy that is intelligent, well-acted, and laugh-out-loud funny." — Moriarty,[14] Ain't It Cool News

"A solid mix of lowball and under-the-breath humor, Super Sucker is a balanced and worthwhile film." — Nathan Lichtman,[15] The Badger Herald

"Super Sucker... is a terrible movie. But that doesn’t prevent it from being interesting and even admirable as a grassroots phenomenon." — Jonathan Rosenbaum,[16] Chicago Reader (January 24, 2003)

"Daniels (goes) for big, tawdry, gloriously cheap yuks. Bless him for it" — Tom Lang,[4] Detroit News

"This is juvenile stuff (not a bad thing) and Super Sucker makes no bones about its meaning or pedigree (also not a bad thing)" — Erin Podolsky,[17] Metro Times

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Michelle Mountain". The Purple Rose Theatre Company. 23 August 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b Purple Rose Theatre Company. "Michelle Mountain - Across the Way". Monologue Project. youtube. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b "History". Brauer Productions, Inc. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Daniels, Jeff 1955–". Encyclopedia.com.
  5. ^ LaPlace, Todd; Christ, Eric (January 28, 2003). "Daniels sucks up laughs in new film". The Lantern. Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Archived from the original on 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  6. ^ Piccalo, Gina; Roug, Louise (22 February 2002). "Strolling the Boardwalk With Actor Jeff Daniels". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Jeff Daniels". Britannica .com.
  8. ^ Super Sucker at the TCM Movie Database
  9. ^ a b c Lybarger, Dan (24 January 2003). "Super Sucker - Interview with Jeff Daniels - Nitrate Online Feature". nitrateonline.com. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  10. ^ ASIN B001HT2D9Y
  11. ^ Householder, Michael (22 February 2003). "Jeff Daniels' film career blooming despite moving back to Michigan". Daily Freeman. Kingston, New York. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Jeff Daniels". Dramatists Play Service, Inc. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  13. ^ Borrelli, Christopher. "Super Sucker: Daniels has a well-meaning dud". The Blade (Toledo, Ohio). Toledo, Ohio: Toledo Blade Co. Archived from the original on 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Early Review For New Jeff Daniels Comedy SUPER SUCKER!!". Aint It Cool News. January 24, 2003. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  15. ^ Lichtman, Nathan (3 February 2003). ""Super Sucker" blows — and that's a good thing". The Badger Herald. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  16. ^ Rosenbaum, Jonathan. "Buyer Beware". Jonathan Rosenbaum .net. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  17. ^ Podolsky, Erin. "Super Sucker". Detroit Metro Times. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
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