Cashback (2006)

I was having a not so good day and so I decided to go on Netflix to watch something that’ll cheer me up. One of the recommended movies was “Cashback” and it said it was similar to “Waiting” which I loved! So I decided to give it a try, and to my surprise it was an indie film. So sadly I didn’t know anyone in the movie, but that was rather refreshing. This allows the actors to play the characters without any expectations. Details after the jump.

We join in the movie with Ben Willis (Sean Biggerstaff), an art student, narrating his most recent break up. He claims this is the first big heart break. This leads him to develop insomnia because he has trouble coping with his lose. With all this free time he decides to trade in his nights for money by getting a job at a local supermarket. This is where he meets a bunch of interesting people with their own interesting way to pass the boring graveyard shifts. Ben eventually finds out he can pause time, this allows him to really ‘appreciate’ the beauty of the female body. He decides to draw them while in this new world he has discovered. He even falls for a particular beauty at work; can he use his new found ‘super’ powers to win her over?

Ben is your normal Art student.

There are definitely a few parts of this movie that feel like Waiting. These parts are sort of similar, but they give something for me to relate to. For a guy who’s worked a few night shifts, you do definitely get bored and you start to experiment by doing silly things. These guys hold everything from scooter races to pranking one another. This is where most of the comedy lies and I love it. Unlike "Waiting", I can actually see myself doing a few of these things (besides pausing time).

But I haven’t gotten to the most important part of this movie. There are boobs, and lots of them. Because Ben admires the beauty of a woman, he prefers them to be naked. I won’t complain, I find this part rather entertaining and I am sure a few of you will too. And to go with all the nakedness, there is a lot of sexual innuendos, some funny, some not so funny.

With a sensational, almost perverted, power to freeze time and draw chicks.

But in all honesty, I really did like the movie for more than just the nudity. The characters easily steal the movie for me. They are just great to watch. The two in particular, Barry and Matt (who work with Ben), these guys are the goof balls and troublemakers. The antics they would get themselves into are just priceless. I also really liked the main love interest, Sharon. She was likable, and has this certain girl next door personality; even I had a crush on her by the end of the movie.

So yes there is an important love story in this movie. And I actually didn’t hate it. I mean there are a lot of love stories I tend to hate, but this one I didn’t mind at all. It is the feel of it I liked, the movie deals with his first love then his first break up and then his first rebound. And to top it all off, it felt genuine. The closest movie I can think of that is comparable in the respect of love stories is “Scott Pilgrim”. They both feel the same, even though it is a bit silly to defeat 7 exes to get with a girl.

The wonderful and beautiful Sharon

Lastly, I want to bring up the whole time dilation aspect in this movie. It is interesting. Ben can freeze time, and when he does that, the whole world doesn’t notice (obviously). I found it cool that these live actresses would freeze middle of the scene and Ben would begin to strip off some clothing off of these actresses. It is amazing how still they can stay. But what bugged me is that he finds out that other people have this ability too, but they don’t develop on that. And I really wish they would have, it had so much more potential.

Overall, Cashback was a pleasant surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed and I recommended to everyone. I am sure that a few people will be thrown off by the nudity but I know a certain British man would who would fancy all this fun stuff, you know who you are. The comedy is good, the romance isn’t nauseating and the story backs it all up really well.