A pair of small-town cops of get embroiled in a murder conspiracy with tragic consequences in Greedy People, an offbeat ensemble crime comedy from director Potsy Ponciroli (Old Henry) now available for rent or purchase on VOD. While initially breezy and appealing, largely thanks to sincere central performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Himesh Patel, this one turns sour during a climax that feels far too mean-spirited for the lightweight film that preceded it.
Tone is a difficult thing to get right in these kinds of movies, which try to balance comedy with more serious subject matter. Greedy People, ultimately, is a story about how avarice can lead to great tragedy, a la the Coen Brothers‘ No Country for Old Men or Sam Raimi‘s A Simple Plan. Those films were not without a sense of humor, but knew how to balance the more serious aspects of their narratives. This one might as well be an episode of Parks and Recreation with a high body count.
Set in the small island town of Providence, South Carolina, Greedy People stars Patel as Will Shelley, a police officer from the big city who moves with pregnant wife Paige (Lily James) to raise their child in comfort. On his first day on the job, Sheriff Murphy (Uzo Aduba) teams him with the gregarious Officer Terry Brogan (Gordon-Levitt) to show him the lay of the land, which includes free coffee at the local donut shop.
But things quickly go wrong when Brogan slips away for a not-so-quickie and Will finds himself reporting to a break-in call on his lonesome at the residence of Virginia Chetlo (Traci Lords). With their eyes on a literal bucket full of cash, the two officers make a series of bad decisions that spiral out of control and lead to devastating consequences—and not only for themselves.
Greedy People turns amusingly complex with storylines involving an eclectic cast of small-town residents that each may or may not have something to do with the money. They include Virginia’s husband Wallace (Tim Blake Nelson), his mistress Bobette (Joey Lauren Adams), Virginia’s addle-brained masseur (Simon Rex), and a pair of competing hitmen (José María Yazpik and Jim Gaffigan) who live across the street from each other—and openly advertise their services.
Greedy People is at its best when depicting, in dryly humorous detail, how all these oddball characters tie into the overall narrative; like the Coen Brothers‘ Blood Simple, the audience knows what’s going on but everyone else is missing multiple pieces of the puzzle. Only the two hitmen characters, played largely for laughs, threaten to turn the dry humor into broad farce.
The two central performances from Patel and Gordon-Levitt give Greedy People a strong anchor to ground both the comedy and the more serious aspects of the movie. Will is just looking out for his family, and Terry seems to only want a friend; greed is not the driving ambition for these characters, unlike the supporting cast, and we can identify with their motivation. Both actors are excellent here, including a more lively turn than usual from Gordon-Levitt.
But Greedy People turns sour when it diverts attention away from its protagonists during a largely unsatisfying climax, which includes an unnecessarily mean-spirited finale. Mike Vukadinovich‘s script follows the money trail, but loses sight of what really made this story engaging.
Still, Greedy People is diverting enough to warrant a mild recommendation; these kinds of ensemble crime comedies are easier to get wrong than right, especially when not in the hands of the Coens, and the cast keeps this watchable throughout. On a scale of The Last Stop in Yuma County to Breaking News in Yuba County, Greedy People rests somewhere comfortable in-between.
