Author: Evan D.
"The Winner Is"
Directed by: Valerie Faris
Written by: Michael Arndt
Cinematography: Rhet W. Bear
Production Design: Kalina Ivanov
Costumes: Michael Posch
Film Editing: Pamela Martin
Score: Mychael Danna
Original Songs: Five For Fighting
CAST
Steven Roberts - Dylan O'Brien
Melissa Roberts - Julianne Moore
David Roberts - David Duchovney
Nick Roberts - Trevor Wright
Selena Jackson - Gabourey Sidibe
Anna Summers - Sarah Hyland
Baggio Pussinen - Dave Franco
Tag line: "The riskiest thing you can do is to get greedy."
Synopsis:
Steven Roberts stood on the podium and looked out over all the smiling, clapping people. He looked down at the oversized check in his hand, and behind him at the huge house and sports car he had just won. He looked back at the crowd and spotted all the important people in his life: his often intoxicated mother Melissa Roberts (Moore), his dirty car salesman father David Roberts (Duchovney), and his ex-con older brother Nick Roberts (Wright). He also saw his always faithful best friends Selena Jackson (Sidibe), and Baggio Pussinen (Franco), as well as the girl he had always loved named Anna Summers (Hyland). It had been a long month since he had first been notified of having won the charity auction sponsored by the local children's hospital in the suburbs of Vancouver, British Columbia, and now he just had to choose which of the greedy, manipulative, and awful people who used to be his friends and family would be lucky enough to share in his well-deserved good fortune.
Steven had done everything right in the four years after high school. He had studied art history at UBC and had tried his hardest to get a job and support himself. However, his degree seemed almost useless when he couldn't find a single job, and he was forced to move back in with his parents. The Roberts weren't a poor family, not by a long shot, but Steven had known since he was very young that the money wasn't all coming from legal channels. His fathers used car business couldn't have paid for all the vacations and expensive jewelry, especially since his mother Melissa didn't work, she was too busy drinking, reading russian novellas, and having no filter for anything she said. Her constant nit-picking kept Steven out of the house a lot. The only reason for him to be at home was to look out of his window and into his next door neighbor Anna's bathroom. Steven had always had been in love with her since high school, but she had never so much as returned his waves. When he wasn't at home or looking for work, he hung out and drove around Vancouver with his super funny and blindingly optimistic best friend Selena, who worked at a publishing company. Selena had always been there for Steven, even when other people in his life hadn't been. Three years prior to winning the contest, Steven's older brother Nick had been sent to jail for dealing weed. Steven hadn't heard from him since, but got some information about his whereabouts and well being after he was released from prison from his brothers old partner Baggio, a pothead who always gave him free weed in exchange for some company.
When Steven's name was announced on the local news saying that he had won, everything changed. His mother became extra loving, his father gave him a job at his company, and his brother suddenly turned up and Baggio's house. Anna started paying a lot of attention to him, and even Selena, a completely plutonic friend, became flirty. But, when the people in Steven's life found out that only one other person could have their name on the lease of the $12,000,000 mansion, they started deceiving one another in an attempt to be the most loved, or at least the least hated, when it came time for Steven to announce who the winner would be.
Press Section:
Valerie Faris' "The Winner Is" has a very simple plot: a young man wins a large sum of money, a mansion, and a car in a charity auction, and everyone in his life tries to suck up to him to get a piece of the pie before he has to put a second name on the house. It's an incredibly witty and well-cast ensemble film that teaches some good lessons about trust, love, and what money can really do to a family. Lead by the quiet and understated performance of Dylan O'Brien ("The First Time") as Steven, the reserved winner of a large charity contest. O'Brien's character is witness to everyone in his life changing their perspective of him once he has money. Once living happily in the shadows, Steven is thrust into the limelight by money-hungry people who he thought loved him for him. O'Brien is brilliant and makes Steven both powerful and sympathetic. Gabourey Sidibe ("Precious") also gives great performance as Selena, Steven's best friend. After seeing Anna (The sarcastic, stoic, and hilarious Sarah Hyland) trying to manipulate her best friend into letting her live in the house with him, she makes the mistake of trying to take her friendship with Steven to another level. Sidibe's character's struggles are relatable to anyone who has ever been in love with someone that doesn't love them back, and her character may be the only sympathetic character besides Steven. Trevor Wright ("Shelter") is stunning as the fierce and often menacing Nick, who may not have only returned to Vancouver because he missed his brother, and Dave Franco ("Now You See Me") is very funny as a stoner who is just along for the ride, and maybe a place to hang out sometime. David Duchovney ("Californication") is devilishly slimy as the "car salesman" father of Steven, who tries to get him involved in one of the family's "side projects" in an attempt to blackmail him for his winnings. But, the best performance in the film comes from Julianne Moore ("The Kids Are All Right"). Moore's Melissa is one of the most condescending, rude, and slippery mothers you'll see on screen for a very long time. The shamelessness that Melissa has is horrible, and she will do whatever she has to do, and throw whoever she has to under the bus, to make her son choose her. Moore gives a terrific performance and should be considered come Oscar time. "The Winner Is" is a small film, but it's incredibly entertaining and darkly comic, and should be remembered, especially for its brilliantly original script.
FYC
Best Picture
Best Director - Valerie Faris
Best Original Screenplay - Michael Arndt
Best Actor - Dylan O'Brien
Best Actress - Gabourey Sidibe
Best Supporting Actor - David Duchovney
Best Supporting Actor - Trevor Wright
Best Supporting Actor - Dave Franco
Best Supporting Actress - Julianne Moore
Best Supporting Actress - Sarah Hyland
"The Winner Is"
Directed by: Valerie Faris
Written by: Michael Arndt
Cinematography: Rhet W. Bear
Production Design: Kalina Ivanov
Costumes: Michael Posch
Film Editing: Pamela Martin
Score: Mychael Danna
Original Songs: Five For Fighting
CAST
Steven Roberts - Dylan O'Brien
Melissa Roberts - Julianne Moore
David Roberts - David Duchovney
Nick Roberts - Trevor Wright
Selena Jackson - Gabourey Sidibe
Anna Summers - Sarah Hyland
Baggio Pussinen - Dave Franco
Tag line: "The riskiest thing you can do is to get greedy."
Synopsis:
Steven Roberts stood on the podium and looked out over all the smiling, clapping people. He looked down at the oversized check in his hand, and behind him at the huge house and sports car he had just won. He looked back at the crowd and spotted all the important people in his life: his often intoxicated mother Melissa Roberts (Moore), his dirty car salesman father David Roberts (Duchovney), and his ex-con older brother Nick Roberts (Wright). He also saw his always faithful best friends Selena Jackson (Sidibe), and Baggio Pussinen (Franco), as well as the girl he had always loved named Anna Summers (Hyland). It had been a long month since he had first been notified of having won the charity auction sponsored by the local children's hospital in the suburbs of Vancouver, British Columbia, and now he just had to choose which of the greedy, manipulative, and awful people who used to be his friends and family would be lucky enough to share in his well-deserved good fortune.
Steven had done everything right in the four years after high school. He had studied art history at UBC and had tried his hardest to get a job and support himself. However, his degree seemed almost useless when he couldn't find a single job, and he was forced to move back in with his parents. The Roberts weren't a poor family, not by a long shot, but Steven had known since he was very young that the money wasn't all coming from legal channels. His fathers used car business couldn't have paid for all the vacations and expensive jewelry, especially since his mother Melissa didn't work, she was too busy drinking, reading russian novellas, and having no filter for anything she said. Her constant nit-picking kept Steven out of the house a lot. The only reason for him to be at home was to look out of his window and into his next door neighbor Anna's bathroom. Steven had always had been in love with her since high school, but she had never so much as returned his waves. When he wasn't at home or looking for work, he hung out and drove around Vancouver with his super funny and blindingly optimistic best friend Selena, who worked at a publishing company. Selena had always been there for Steven, even when other people in his life hadn't been. Three years prior to winning the contest, Steven's older brother Nick had been sent to jail for dealing weed. Steven hadn't heard from him since, but got some information about his whereabouts and well being after he was released from prison from his brothers old partner Baggio, a pothead who always gave him free weed in exchange for some company.
When Steven's name was announced on the local news saying that he had won, everything changed. His mother became extra loving, his father gave him a job at his company, and his brother suddenly turned up and Baggio's house. Anna started paying a lot of attention to him, and even Selena, a completely plutonic friend, became flirty. But, when the people in Steven's life found out that only one other person could have their name on the lease of the $12,000,000 mansion, they started deceiving one another in an attempt to be the most loved, or at least the least hated, when it came time for Steven to announce who the winner would be.
Press Section:
Valerie Faris' "The Winner Is" has a very simple plot: a young man wins a large sum of money, a mansion, and a car in a charity auction, and everyone in his life tries to suck up to him to get a piece of the pie before he has to put a second name on the house. It's an incredibly witty and well-cast ensemble film that teaches some good lessons about trust, love, and what money can really do to a family. Lead by the quiet and understated performance of Dylan O'Brien ("The First Time") as Steven, the reserved winner of a large charity contest. O'Brien's character is witness to everyone in his life changing their perspective of him once he has money. Once living happily in the shadows, Steven is thrust into the limelight by money-hungry people who he thought loved him for him. O'Brien is brilliant and makes Steven both powerful and sympathetic. Gabourey Sidibe ("Precious") also gives great performance as Selena, Steven's best friend. After seeing Anna (The sarcastic, stoic, and hilarious Sarah Hyland) trying to manipulate her best friend into letting her live in the house with him, she makes the mistake of trying to take her friendship with Steven to another level. Sidibe's character's struggles are relatable to anyone who has ever been in love with someone that doesn't love them back, and her character may be the only sympathetic character besides Steven. Trevor Wright ("Shelter") is stunning as the fierce and often menacing Nick, who may not have only returned to Vancouver because he missed his brother, and Dave Franco ("Now You See Me") is very funny as a stoner who is just along for the ride, and maybe a place to hang out sometime. David Duchovney ("Californication") is devilishly slimy as the "car salesman" father of Steven, who tries to get him involved in one of the family's "side projects" in an attempt to blackmail him for his winnings. But, the best performance in the film comes from Julianne Moore ("The Kids Are All Right"). Moore's Melissa is one of the most condescending, rude, and slippery mothers you'll see on screen for a very long time. The shamelessness that Melissa has is horrible, and she will do whatever she has to do, and throw whoever she has to under the bus, to make her son choose her. Moore gives a terrific performance and should be considered come Oscar time. "The Winner Is" is a small film, but it's incredibly entertaining and darkly comic, and should be remembered, especially for its brilliantly original script.
FYC
Best Picture
Best Director - Valerie Faris
Best Original Screenplay - Michael Arndt
Best Actor - Dylan O'Brien
Best Actress - Gabourey Sidibe
Best Supporting Actor - David Duchovney
Best Supporting Actor - Trevor Wright
Best Supporting Actor - Dave Franco
Best Supporting Actress - Julianne Moore
Best Supporting Actress - Sarah Hyland