Glengarry Glen Ross

David Mamet is a force to be reckoned with.

I think at some point in my life I decided that I would probably never be entertained by movies about real estate. However, as Roger Ebert says, "a movie is not about what it is about, but about how it is about it." This film is about it in a cool way. Four real estate salesmen at a failing branch of a larger company are set against one another in a sales competition to keep their jobs (also, a Cadillac). Meanwhile, they're expected to sell with ages-old leads: people who simply aren't interested. The new leads, the good leads, are locked in the manager's office. How do you win? Do you play by the rules? Do you try to steal the leads? Buy them? Cool.

Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacey, Alec Baldwin (about as much awesome packed into a cameo as is possible), Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin. Those are six good reasons right there. Al Pacino's monologue in the bar is priceless.

The one thing I don't get about Mamet's writing is that he writes some of the most convincing dialogue for long stretches, but when someone gets mad and starts swearing, the strangest combinations of words come out. Actually, they don't even have to be swearing sometimes.

For other Mamet I've enjoyed, see: Spartan and Ronin.

I've seen others, but I don't remember them well enough to recommend them.