Price Check

Price Check is a 2012 independent comedy-drama film that intimately explores life and culture in the corporate world. The movie stars Parker Posey, Eric Mabius, and Annie Parisse, with each offering a phenomenally engaging performance that adds depth to the storyline, complexity to the characters and thus, brilliance to the movie itself.

The movie, directed by Michael Walker, points a humorous and eccentric yet captivating spotlight on the often mind-numbing and unsatisfying world of corporate business. Charlie (played by Eric Mabius), is the movie's central character. He works as a middle-level employee in the pricing department of a supermarket chain, comfortably maintaining his job without much ambition for further growth. His life takes an adventurous—and chaotic—turn when the aggressively charismatic Susan Felders (Parker Posey) ascends into the role of his department's new head.

Parker Posey's performance as Susan is arguably the highlight of the movie. Susan is a high-energy, ambitious, and immensely passionate character whose off-the-wall personality and relentless ambition cause significant changes in the office dynamics. She breathes life and excitement into a laid-back department and instantaneously stirs up Charlie's rather bland and monotonous life. Susan, who has her own unique and strange way of doing things, is relentless, and Charlie—who is initially baffled by her intensity—starts to find himself tangled in a multi layered, dynamic work dynamic and personal conflict.

Eric Mabius' portrayal of Charlie encompasses the subtle desperation and confusion that many can relate to in the corporate world. Stuck between his family's financial needs and his own stability, Charlie finds himself in situations he never thought he'd negotiate. His character provides an insightful representation of the moral and ethical dilemmas that often infiltrate the personal and professional lines in the demanding and relentless corporate environment.

Annie Parisse plays Charlie’s wife, who is suspicious about Susan’s motives, contributing another significant layer to Charlie’s evolving predicament. Her character becomes an essential anchor and a reality-check for Charlie in his turbulent journey, navigating through his confusion.

Price Check presents an intriguing dance of moral duty versus ambition, reality versus expectation, and personal life versus professional demands. The plot of the movie thrives on highlighting everyday realities of the lower and middle strata of corporate America, where employees often find themselves stuck in a cyclical, emotionally draining routine. Through comedy and drama, the film examines how a sudden disruption to this routine can significantly affect their lives in unexpected and often challenging ways.

A multitude of scenes in Price Check allude to the power dynamics, politics, and negotiations that are common in the corporate world, and the movie doesn’t shy away from showcasing the realistically frustrating elements of office life.

At the heart of Price Check is a narrative that questions the values, ideals, and morals that are often compromised in our ceaseless quest for professional growth. It's not always clear-cut right or wrong, as the movie so effectively portrays. It stirs up relevant questions about ambition, sacrifice, and the price to pay for success, dragging the viewers into a meaningful dialogue about their own lives and ambitions.

The movie also illustrates the fascinating yet absurd corporate culture, where success is often pinned on cut-throat competition and constant performance pressure. Price Check paints this world in a humorous yet realistically grim manner, epitomizing the eccentricities that frequently punctuate the corporate landscape.

On the surface, Price Check may appear to be a story about corporate life, ambition, and moral dilemmas. However, delve a little deeper, and it's much more. It's a story about the everyday man, his dreams, his struggles, and the intricate dance of compromise that he often finds himself choreographing.

With a clever mix of humor, drama, and real-world masala, Price Check offers a fascinating study of life beyond the desk jobs that we so often choose to ignore. The stellar performances by the cast, in combination with the effective storytelling by the director, The movie leaves the audience with a lot to ponder, ensuring that they take back a little more than just a few laughs at the end of the run time.