Off The Wall Crime Comedy On Netflix Stuns Audiences With A-List Cast And Zany Plot
Every now and then, I find myself scrolling through hundreds of film and television projects on streaming services in hopes of stumbling onto something truly special. 9 times out of 10, I wind up caving and going back to an old episode of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia or Seinfeld, though occasionally I find something spectacular that I can’t believe I haven’t already heard of before. One such case of the latter was my recent discovery of the movie Queenpins on Netflix.
The film touts a hilarious plot based on a wacky true story, a stacked cast of comedy all-stars, and tons of heart.
Counterfeiting Coupons
For those who, like me, completely missed the release of Queenpins, the film centers on a pair of suburban housewives named Connie Kaminski and Joanna Johnson as they build an empire of counterfeit grocery coupons.
Though the premise seems a bit farcical in nature, these coupons wind up accounting for tens of millions in lost revenue across numerous grocery chains, eventually piquing the interest of Ken Miller, an overzealous loss prevention officer, who teams with U.S. postal inspector Simon Kilmurry.
A Bizarre And Hilarious Operation
The savvy shoppers continue recruiting local moms into their brilliant money-saving scheme over time, and incriminate themselves with the purchase of flashy vehicles and lavish luxuries. As this is going on, the dynamic duo of Miller and Kilmurry sleuth out the coupon scam, while bonding with each other over a shared love of absurd rigidity. By the time the credits roll on Queenpins, the coupon heist reaches truly insane levels, as the entire empire comes crumbling like a drug cartel in a crime thriller.
Based On A True Story
Queenpins is over-the-top hilarious, and plays a lot like a serious crime drama, with Kaminski and Johnson standing in for a pair of Tony Montana or Pablo Escobar-style crime lords. The film was written and directed by husband and wife duo Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, based loosely on the true story of suburban moms from the Phoenix, Arizona area, who pulled a similar coupon gambit back in 2012.
Queenpins touts a massive ensemble of comedy legends in its cast, including Kristen Bell, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Paul Walter Hauser, Vince Vaughn, Jack McBrayer, Stephen Root, Marc Evan Jackson and Community‘s Joel McHale, just to name a few.
COVID Buried The Premiere
I was shocked to discover this movie while randomly scrolling through Netflix, as a film with this cast and over-the-top premise seems like the exact thing that would be on my radar. After doing a bit of digging, however, I came to understand exactly why I had never heard of Queenpins before, as the film’s 2021 release was buried by the news of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rather than releasing to theaters, Queenpins was initially delivered to audiences via an exclusive streaming deal with Showtime and Paramount+, and failed to draw eyes amid the ongoing global epidemic.
Check It Out On Netflix
REVIEW SCORE
This also likely explains why Queenpins received such milquetoast reviews, despite being absolutely hilarious, in my humble opinion. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes have collectively given the film a score of only 48 percent, despite general audiences loving the comedy vehicle, to the tune of an 82 percent Popcornmeter score. If you’re interested in checking out Queenpins and seeing the uproarious adventure for yourself, be sure to stream the film on Netflix today.
