The First Five Million
(is always the hardest)
(2002)
Starring: Adam Garcia, Jake Busey, and Rosario Dawson
Review written by: Josh Bozeman on October 9,
2003 @ 10:14 P.M. CT.
Review Summary: Funny movie, great lead
characters, actors did very very nice job.
Rating: 8.5/10
The First Five Million- this is a movie that I have never heard of, until I saw the DVD at my local library. I saw Rosario Dawson looking as beautiful as ever on the box, so I picked it up and read the back...it talked about a group of eccentric guys who build a $99 PC, it sounded funny, so I checked it out.
I brought the dvd home, and didn't watch it for a few days...had to renew it online from the library. Finally, I watched is this afternoon. I should have watched it earlier, because it's a great movie and the cast is spectacular. Jake Busey, who looks just like his dad (I guess it's his dad and not his uncle or something?) is really funny as the computer whiz guy who also has "personal space issues." He has a fear of germs, always wearing latex gloves to drive, always washing his hands with anti-bacterial soap. Adam Garcia, who plays the main character Andy- the story is about Andy, who quits his job at a tech company to go work for this tech institute for a lot less money and a lot less recognition. Garcia is a very charming actor, and I am surprised I haven't seen him in other big movies (maybe he has been in big movies, but I've never heard of him until this film.) Rosario Dawson is gorgeous in this movie, and she does a wonderful job as Andy's love interest. The fat guy and the indian guy...well, I can't even remember what their character's names are, and I don't know the actor's names either- but still, they did a nice job as well as secondary characters.
Well, to the story...as I mentioned, Adam works at a tech company, rolling in the dough, driving a porsche, his hot assistant is also his girlfriend...he tells his best friend that he's working with dot coms, and he came to the valley to do something big, something important. He wanted to make something people could hold and touch, something that would be on every desk in the world. He hadn't done that yet...so he quits his job, so he can work at the la honda institute where he thinks he'll be working on big important projects that will change the world. The head of the biggest project there kicks Adam off that team. Adam only got the place on the team as a favor from someone who gives the institute money. Francis, the head of the big project tells Andy that he will be working on another project- one where he will try to build a 99 dollar PC. He gets a team together (the actors mentioned above), moves into a boarding house with a bunch of band members from Stanford's marching band, and his new neighbor is Rosario Dawson's character, Alissa. He finds out that the PC99 project is a joke, and they always give it to the losers every year. His team is very odd, but they're good guys, and I surely wouldn't call them losers. They spit out a lot of high tech lingo, and make jokes that would be hip only with techies that know the jargon. Andy is clean cut, normal, not like these guys at all, but he bonds with them as head of the PC99 team.
I won't give away anymore of the story, but to say that Andy is immediately attracted to Alissa, who is usually busy sculpting (she's a sculptor), and the story of how they get together, and the scenes between the two of them- it's all really sweet and very entertaining and funny to watch. I, personally, would love any scene with Dawson, because I am in love with her! But, that's just me...and they both do a great job in this film.
Not much to say in regards to film direction or storytelling. The story is somewhat simple, there are a few twists thrown into the movie to keep suspense up as much as possible in a comedy like this, but overall- the plot works, and it seems real enough. The acting is spot on, as I have mentioned...these semi-newcomers should go far in Hollywood.
So, some of this stuff is probably funny mainly to computer nerds, but anyone could enjoy the jokes in the film, and the story is entertaining enough to sit thru for nearly 2 hours (I believe it's nearly 2 hours)...it all comes together very nicely. It's not oscar material, but it does what it sets out to do, and I liked it a lot.