The Prime Gig Movie Review

Something's rotten in The Prime Gig, but damned if you can put your finger on it. Director Gregory Mosher and his team have done their homework in crafting a suspenseful con-artist thriller by keeping you guessing about just who's getting conned.

Is it Vince Vaughn's Penny, a distrusting telemarketer with questionable morals? Or is it Ed Harris's Kelly Grant, a kingpin of telephone sales who recruits Penny to help him sell $2.5 million worth of investment shares in a gold mine? Or something else altogether? Penny takes this "prime gig," mainly because it gets him closer to Kelly's girlfriend (Julia Ormand), which, combined with his inability to sell anything on the floor, starts to land him in hotter and hotter water. Is any of this legit? Who's conning who? The Prime Gig takes its sweet time in getting to the answer, but it's definitely a worthwhile trip to take.

Vaughn and Harris -- who honed the con game in Glengarry Glen Ross -- spar well here, Vaughn berating his marks into buying shares while Harris rides him all the way. Ormond doesn't make much of an impression (does she ever?), but she's harmless enough and at least doesn't detract from the better half of the tale -- Penny working the phones.

The Prime Gig is hardly the masterpiece of Glengarry or House of Games, but it's a worthy entry into a very difficult genre. You undoubtedly missed it in theatrical release. You ought to catch it now on DVD.