“Buffaloed” is set in the underworld of debt-collecting and follows the homegrown hustler Peg Dahl, who will do anything to escape Buffalo, NY.
“Do not fuck with my money,” Peg Dahl (Zoey Deutch), the plucky, hyper-intelligent heroine of Tanya Wexler’s energetic feature “Buffaloed” announces via voice-over narration. She means it. From early childhood, Peg has been dead-set on financial gain, delving deep into this nation’s debt-collecting underbelly. If only Wexler’s film were as consistent as its protagonist’s unflinching determination. Tonally and structurally all over the place, “Buffaloed” never stops being entertaining — even if it doesn’t quite escape the shadow of “The Big Short,” which seems to have served as the blueprint for this film.
Similar to Adam McKay’s feature, “Buffaloed” purports to be a satire/dissection of U.S. economics, and by extension, the American Dream. Peg even breaks the 4th wall at several points, explaining financial jargon to the audience — although at no point does she soak in a bathtub while sipping champagne. Au contraire: unlike “The Big Short”’s prominent, wealthy figures and lustrous setting, “Buffaloed” adopts a radically different perspective, that of moral, architectural and financial decay. Its setting — the battered town of Buffalo, NY — almost functions as one of its central characters, the epitome of America’s debt crisis. The town’s name is certainly referenced enough in the film (easily over a dozen times); there’s even a rotting buffalo head gracing Peg’s wall that becomes integral to the story.
Peg lives in, yes, Buffalo with her mother Kathy (Judy Greer) and brother JJ (Noah Reid). They live paycheck-to-paycheck, barely keeping afloat. Peg won’t have it. “While other kids begged for allowances, I studied profit margins,” she narrates. Indeed, young Peggy sells cigarettes, scalps tickets — anything to make a profit. When she gets accepted into a “fancy-shmancy” school, the Dahls can’t afford it. Peg’s efforts to make the extra cash land her in jail.
Once out, she schemes her way into a debt collecting agency, led by the sleazy Wizz (Jai Courtney). Quickly proving herself as the top-performer, Peg poses a threat to Wizz and starts her own business, recruiting Buffalo’s outcasts to help her run it. Turf wars ensue, involving multiple threats, blow-up dolls and a few buckets of menstrual blood. In the meantime, there’s a sort-of romance happening between Peg and Graham (Jermaine Fowler), the lawyer who put her in jail in the first place, and whose morals collide with (the lack of) hers.
Wexler knows how to maintain the tempo — her film moves. Despite the overall familiar structure, you never quite know where the next scene is going to take you, and that’s quite an accomplishment. Credit’s mostly due to Ms. Zoey Deutch, who holds the film on her shoulders. Sporting a colorful slew of oversized jackets, training pants and a scrunchie bun wagging around on her head, she scorches the screen with a no-holds-barred performance. The actress constantly leaves you wondering whether her Peg is being genuine or manipulative, purposefully naive or devious, while never for a second making you doubt her perseverance. A scene involving Peg hustling an old lady, then changing gears halfway through, perfectly illustrates this.
The film does take a few major stumbles. It seems unsure of what tone to settle on, so it goes for them all, vacillating between serious drama, sociopolitical commentary, intense thriller and, perhaps most jarringly, slapstick comedy. Some of its jokes will leave you scratching your head: e.g. a chicken wing gag in a courtroom that comes out of nowhere (if I had to guess, Wexler was going for a Coen-esque jab at small-town folk here). The ragtag group of misfits that Peg assembles (another Coen motif) isn’t nearly developed enough. Jai Courtney hams it up (“This is why I don’t hire bitches,” his Wizz snarls), while Judy Greer is sidelined to a role she could play in her sleep.
It’s also difficult to overlook how easily everything comes to Peg. Wexler does a good job of portraying her as a sharp cookie who’s not sharp enough to know her limits. She doesn’t, however, quite sell Peg’s “technique.” Charming as she is, I doubt that folks in Buffalo — or anywhere, for that matter — are bamboozled this easily. Peg has no trouble getting hundreds of thousands from struggling folks, even less trouble recruiting her gang — and then somehow makes her shady business work (to a point).
For those who found “The Big Short” too didactic, “Buffaloed” may provide the perfect antidote. It’s not as sharp or nuanced as its bigger cinematic cousin, but it’s arguably more rooted in character, more spontaneous and vivacious. Wexler examines the intricacies and moral quandaries of debt collecting and touches upon the ever-elusive pursuit of riches in America and reiterates the importance of being happy with what you’ve got. It doesn’t buffalo you into feeling anything, letting you make up your own mind. For that alone, it earns a solid recommendation.
In Theaters Friday, February 14th
