Closing Escrow (2007) Reviews

• If you've ever bought a house in America...

  vme32007-10-03

  This movie was hilarious. It pokes fun at every aspect of the house-buying-with-realtor process. The insane details of the buyers' lives that realtors use to pretend they are their "best friends" added to the "reality" of it. I can't rate the movie as a 10, because it's not a "Little Miss Sunshine" or "Sideways," but it is in that vein, and it had me laughing out loud many times. It seems that a lot of people commenting negatively on it here just didn't get it. Perhaps they have not negotiated the house-buying milieu or just a case of different strokes for different folks. All humour does not appeal to all people. I know a few realtors and have been through the maze a few times in the States, so I connected with it. Hilarious.

• Funny Stuff

  al-james-12006-03-16

  Saw an early screening of this film and it's hilarious. While the flick spoofs the real estate business and shopping for a home, it really is just a funny film with several inane, awkward moments that made me cringe and laugh at the same time -- kind of like watching The Office or Curb Your Enthusiasm. The film follows several couples looking for new homes and the real estate agents that service them. Some of the characters are well based in reality, and others are way over the top but very, very funny. A lot of great, new comedians take part in this film and you really get to watch several funny people at work. A good portion of the acting was improv -- and what the cast came up with left me in tears. The two folks from Reno 911 interacted very well on screen and provided some great comedic moments, such as "What's A Blunt!!" And who would've guessed a crazed stalker could be so funny. I'm predicting that a lot of the cast involved in this film will be seen in other comedic endeavors for years to come.

• Rates up there with "Best in Show"

  rodneyjre2006-06-15

  When I was invited to a rough cut screening of "Closing Escrow," I had no idea how much I was going to enjoy watching real estate agents make fools of themselves. As a veteran real estate agent for almost 20 years, I thought I had seen it all. However, Armen Kaprelian's movie, "Closing Escrow," had me laughing at the absurdities of my business. Much of the dialogue was improvised and two actors deserve mention here. Wendy McLendon-Covey from "Reno 911" did a stand out job of playing the uptight, politically correct agent, Hillary, who is working with an African American couple. Also, Bruce Thomas whom my daughters adored in "Legally Blonde" was relatable in his role of working with neighbors who couldn't make up their minds about what they wanted in a house. "Closing Escrow" is sure to have audiences laughing out loud at the practices of some unconventional Realtors. I found it comparable to other "mockumentaries" like "Best in Show" and "A Mighty Wind."

• uneven but often funny faux-documentary

  Buddy-512008-01-31

  The All-American dream of home ownership comes in for some gentle ribbing in "Closing Escrow," a pseudo-documentary written and directed by Armen Kaprelian and Kent G. Llewellyn. The film follows three quirky couples and their equally zany realtors as they endure the trials and tribulations of buying and selling a home. In all honesty, it takes awhile for "Closing Escrow" to work its way into the audience's affections. The humor, in the early stages, comes across as overly broad and arch, and the movie feels too derivative of all those Christopher Guest films like "Waiting For Guffman," "Best in Show" and "A Mighty Wind." to be entirely original. Yet, long about the midway point of the story, the concept begins to pay off and the movie glides smoothly to its conclusion. Moreover, the actors elevate the humor with their marvelously deadpan performances and impeccable sense of timing. "Closing Escrow" is no barnburner of a comedy, but it does succeed in providing us with a decent number of good-hearted and good-natured laughs by the time it's over - not too shabby an accomplishment for any comedy these days.

• The good news is there are five good laughs in this movie.

  maeander2007-09-07

  The bad news is they keep on repeating them over and over and over and over again until they are no longer funny. At 93 minutes, it feels like it ran 186 minutes. I don't enjoy bad mouthing a film. These people, obviously, are trying. But with so many "10" votes and comparing it to "Best In Show"; I felt I had to warn people. The chances are very good you won't enjoy this film. Some of the situations are so forced as to be embarrassing. Maybe a better group of actors could have hidden the flaws. Or perhaps the director could have been less self-indulgence. Or perhaps the money people could have asked for an actual script. Production value is almost nil. Photography is flat. Costumes are off-the-rack Wal-Mart. It has the feel of a quickie vanity project shot on digital video Direct-to-DVD. As a comedy/satire, it's not that it's bad...it just not funny. And whatever people say, funny is important. This tedious film is not.