I was first introduced to this movie in the spring of 2004 by my cousin. I had never heard of the movie prior to his recommendation. He simply said, “I’m going to show you a clip, and if you don’t want to see the movie afterwards, I’ll be confused…” This is the clip that he showed me: Alec Baldwin’s “Motivational” Sales Speech. If you don’t intend to watch the entire scene, please skip to 6:13 to at least get an idea of what I’m talking about.
That is the only scene that Alec Baldwin is in, but the energy and message lasts throughout. And the cast is stacked: Al Pacino, Jack Lemon, Alan Arkin, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey and Jonathan Pryce. The story surrounds a small real estate shop and its salesmen. It was originally a play by David Mamet, master of the male “macho,” before he adapted it for the screen in 1992.
The story is engaging, the characters are sympathetic and 3-dimensional (with the exception of Spacey’s character who is an asshole) and there are more ridiculous one-liners than a Mitch Hedberg stand-up routine. I highly encourage you to check it out if you haven’t already.
Rating: ****1/2
the self-hating hipster 
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