Dir: K. Asher Levin
Starring: Kyle Gallner, Kathryn Morris, Sarah Hyland, James Belushi, Ryan Pinkston, Rebecca Mader and Denise Richards.
The Film
I wont lie, the cover art for this film does not look promising. The over Photoshopped ‘cougars’ and the placement just looks very cheap, and it makes it look like some sort of sex comedy. However Cougars Inc. is not what the cover does suggest, instead of the film being about the older women it is the story of a young man named Sam (Kyle Gallner). Now Sam appears to be one of those delinquents who cannot be tamed, he starts himself off at a new school and tries to make things work. It comes down to the fact that despite support from the Dean (James Belushi), that he won’t be able to afford tuition. One thing leads to another and Sam finds himself in bed with older woman Alison (Kathyrn Morris of Cold Case fame), feeling guilty about their rendezvous she gives him money. Sam and his friends get the idea to pimp themselves out to Alison and her friends in order make money, and Sam in turn gets his tuition. Throw in the complications which follow such a venture, including a love interest (Modern Family’s Sarah Hyland) and you have Cougars Inc.
The film isn’t what I thought it would be; it wasn’t some cheap and crude sex induced film. It really wanted its focus to be on the teenage boys and their willingness to live an adult lifestyle and the female adults who were striving to be young again and the object of affection. It doesn’t aim to say it is right of the boys to act that way or of the women but rather to consider the consequences of these actions. Yet the consequences are just not really there, and it ultimately does not lead anywhere. These two types of people use each other and at the end of the day nothing really changes for any of them. The main character who is the focus, doesn’t really learn much of anything. The characters are quite paper-thin, Sam is a little developed but it really does not explain much. His friends are just horny guys looking to get laid. The older women are all supposed to be neglected wives, looking for something to make them feel young again. This is not at all explained or put forward, just a few lines and throw away scenes here, and the audience are just meant to pick up on this. There is no real exposition on any of this, and it does fall flat.
For whatever reasons the main selling point with this film is Denise Richards, and as you can see she did not get a mention in my synopsis run down. She is not in the film much at all; it takes her awhile to even show up. I have never really seen the appeal of this woman, and her media extra curricular activities have gained her a strange following. She really should not be the focus for the marketing, and her performance in this film is rather lacking. It is obvious she is trying to be this ‘sexy mother cougar’ type, but it fails miserably. She has no idea how to add to a character and she does not come off well and is easily forgotten about.
The other members of the cast are really just there, not giving good or bad performances. Kyle Gallner is fine as Sam; he is certainly a lot more charismatic than he was in A Nightmare On Elm Street remake. Kathryn Morris shows us there is a decent actress in there somewhere but with material like this we aren’t going to see her. James Belushi is clearing having fun with his role but towards the later scenes he feels tired and worn. Sarah Hyland looks 12 years old and half of her lines are mumbled, it was borderline disturbing seeing her in certain scenes because she does look so young. Everyone else is just there and that is about it and not really worth mentioning. Is this a film worth watching? At its very small running time you could give it a go if you want to see the so-called cougars and a film that really does not go anywhere. Otherwise this is a miss; perhaps it will make a good learning curve for the Writer/Director K. Asher Levin. This is the first feature length film from Levin and there are signs of promise, structure and substance does go a long way and this film did not have much of that.
The Australian DVD
The copy I reviewed is a screener, so there are no extra features aside from the films trailer.
Rating
Details here.
Thanks to Bill at Gryphon Entertainment for the copy.
The Super Network 