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Cashback | 
 enlarge | Director: Sean Ellis
Actors: Sean Biggerstaff, Emilia Fox, Shaun Evans, Michelle Ryan, Stuart Goodwin
Studio: Magnolia
Category: Movie
Buy New: $2.99
Rating:  39 reviews
Sales Rank: 62
Genre: Art House
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: Video On Demand
Running Time: 103
ASIN: B001B5AY0O
Theatrical Release Date: January 1, 2006
Release Date: October 7, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 34 more reviews...
 Surprisingly NOT funny. November 19, 2008
CASHBACK is about an art student named Ben who is going through a rough time recovering from a breakup with his ex-girlfriend. He gets a bad case of insomnia to the point of near insanity. He ends up getting a job working the Graveyard shift at a local supermarket the extra eight hours he has due to the fact that he can't sleep. He develops a fascination with a cashier named Sharon and learns to stop time like Zack Morris used to do in SAVED BY THE BELL, except instead of just talking like Zack did, Ben draws pictures of random girls who are shopping in the store while they're frozen and as his fascination with Sharon grows, she because more and more of a muse for Ben's artistic expression.
Normally all I watch is Horror movies so this film is a little out of place for me, but hey I enjoy a good Comedy every once in a while! Going into CASHBACK, I thought it was going to be a lot funnier than it was. Shame on me for not doing more research about the movie prior to watching it. There was only one scene in the movie that made me laugh (the Kung-Fu slap). The rest of the movie was sort of a sappy love story that wasn't sure whether it wanted to be funny or dramatic. Had it gone either way, it would have been really good but since it was somewhere down the middle it came off as an uneven movie and I eventually lost interest in it. For what it was, CASHBACK was actually pretty good. Everyone can relate to Ben's character, whether they like to admit it or not. The heartbreak. Not being able to sleep because all you can think about is her (or him). The utter boredom and confusion that comes with being a newly single person. Constantly thinking about what went wrong and WHEN it went wrong. One day everything is fine and the next day it's all over. And then of course, the most important part of breaking up: moving on. So with that being said, you could kind of feel for Ben and understand what he's going through, thus relating to the character. Other than that... CASHBACK just moved along really slow and the payoff of the film is pretty generic and predictable.
On the bright side, at least the film has a ton of nudity! It's to the point that I'm surprised that the movie even got an R rating. I guess when it's done in a certain context, the Nazis at the MPAA are able to forgive graphic nudity. The actresses/models who were cast as the naked grocery store shoppers were ALL absolutely gorgeous. I recognized one of them as the famous (or infamous, depending on where you've seen her) British model Keeley Hazell, who's probably one of the sexiest women on the face of the Earth, but I'm not sure who the others are. All I know is that I need to move to England and work at this grocery store ASAP.
Overall, CASHBACK was pretty disappointing. It wasn't funny and neither were the characters. As a matter of fact, I thought there would be more interaction with the goofy characters that are Ben's co-workers, but there wasn't. They were kind of just THERE. Also, the movie's description and pictures on the back of the DVD led me to believe that Sharon was also living a secret life as a stripper or something, and I HOPE I'm not alone there. I mean, there's a big picture of her swinging from a stripper pole and the quote "..Sharon, the quiet checkout girl, who perhaps holds the answer to solving the problem of Ben's insomnia." I thought, yeah I bet she does! Well, it turns out she's not a stripper and the picture on the DVD is from a very brief scene of Ben's wild imagination. Damn kids and their false advertising. So... if you're looking for a LOVE STORY of sorts and like British films, then CASHBACK may be to your liking. If you're expecting a laugh out loud funny movie, then you should probably skip this one. However, it is a decent film that's worth checking out and is not horrible by any means.
 Slow and Boring November 15, 2008
Tiny bits of humor, unbelievably boring. The star of the show rambles on and on. The funniest scene is in the first two minutes when his ex rips into him. There are a few bits of immature humor but it just dragged on. Did I say it dragged on and on?
 A great avante-garde romantic comedy-fantasy October 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Ok, I admit it ... just like many other people, it was the cover picture that caught my eye (as it was meant to). HOWEVER, it was the cogent and intelligent comments here (on Amazon) that succeeded in clueing me in to a sensitively written high-brow gem of a movie, which I promptly purchased, and just finished enjoying.
Yes, Ellis' movie has the obligatory dysfunctional 'characters', and sophomoric humor, required to keep what Shakespeare called his audience's "peanut gallery" contingent entertained ... thus freeing him to tell the deeper tale to the rest of the audience in peace.
In this instance, the story revolves around an intelligent, and very introspective, young art student who, shell-shocked from breaking up with his {superficially} beautiful girlfriend, goes through an emotional recovery phase (and a severe bout of profound insomnia) in which his understandings of "beauty" (both superficial and inner), and his perception time itself, shatter and rearrange themselves in surreal fashion into a new, deeper, and more mature awareness.
{By the way, the movie title is something of a double pun - the main character, as a result of his insomnia, uses his sleepless hours to work the graveyard shift at a local supermarket, theyeby getting 'cashback' on his surplus time (which seems to drag interminably) ... also, his new love interest, the cashier in same store, asks customers if they want 'cashback' on the card they use for their purchase.}
Anyway, it's a great avante garde movie. Ellis deftly uses the combination of feminine beauty, and surreal time perception, as a sort of visual zen-koan, in order to help the viewer better empathize with the main character's attempts to reassess both concepts with his artistic mental microscope (like a microbiologist trying to study what's ailing him). If you've ever been through a near death experience, a major accident, or a particularly deep & memorable emotional experience (good or bad), you'll have a leg up on grasping the slow-motion 'train wreck' altered-state-of-awareness effect (and it's aftermanth) that often accompanies such experiences, and how they often replay themselves over and over again in your mind ... sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes timeless.
It's well done, and very enjoyable. Stars: 4 1/2.
 Worth every penny October 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Very good movie, very surreal. It is different kind of movie which is why I loved it. This is a movie you curl up with your partner and watch late at night, not a family movie.
Wonderful, Original....Moments of Pure Genius !! September 21, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I selected this movie for the photo on the DVD cover, having no great expectations, but after watching it and the short film from which it was derived, I am in complete awe of the originality, creativity, and cinematic genius of it creator, Shaun Ellis. It succeeds on all levels: masterful camera work, perfect casting, splendid dialog, characters with whom you can really connect, and a clever, original plot.
Most of us can personally relate to virtually every situation, emotion, and comment made by the lead character. Rarely does a movie so accurately portray so many almost inexplicable emotions such as longing, loneliness, and utter boredom.
The characters are stuck in the most boring possible workplace and each seek their own ways to preserve their sanity. One idiotic pair play childish pranks, while the female lead, beautifully played by Emilia Fox, covers her watch with tape and avoids looking at the clock at all costs....for as we all know, a watched clock moves even more slowly.
The male lead, played by Sean Biggerstaff, however, embraces the slowness of time's passage, and appears to be able to make time actually stand still. During these periods, when everyone else is frozen in place, he roams about undressing and drawing some of the store's more beautiful clientele. As other reviewers have noted, this could have descended into gross pornography, but, as a testiment to the great skill of the author and director, Ellis, it actually rises to the level of art.
The dual love story is also quite moving: the painful destruction of one relationship and the gradual development of a new one. At all times, both are absolutely plausible and emotionally tone perfect.
In conclusion, there is a much better reason to buy, rent, or borrow this DVD than its cover photo: the simple fact that I and many other reviewers have given it our highest recommendation. So many people just can't be wrong. Please trust us and view this splendid film at your earliest convenience. It is truly a small masterpiece that you will not soon forget.
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