Jason B. Kohl

Perhaps the only thing worse than selling crap to strangers is doing it to your friends and family. During my teenage years in Lansing, Michigan my parents successfully talked me out of pushing Cutco knives onto their friends for fourteen bucks an hour. Little did I know that Amway, the direct marketing behemoth, was just an hour’s drive away in Grand Rapids. 

Amway’s hometown is the setting for this darkly hilarious tale of family, death and the incredible sales opportunities that can result. Our hero is Peter, an everyman who returns home for his parent’s funeral, only to realize that he’s the only person in town not selling “Dreamstar,” a chain of products remarkably similar to, you guessed it, Amway.

An excellent cast led by Brian Huskey (Neighbors, Superbad) always keeps the beats landing funny as Dreamstar’s “golden opportunity” infects Peter’s family one by one. As a Michigander, this reviewer was particularly impressed by the film’s remarkable attention to detail. Everything from the character’s costumes to the cabinets and chairs in their kitchen (Grand Rapids is also famous for furniture) rang true. Without talking to the filmmaker I would never have guessed that the film was actually shot in Los Angeles, which is no small feat.

Grand Zero is part of “The Michigan Stories,” an anthology of shorts from executive producer Nathaniel Eyde. After Michigan’s sudden and devastating elimination of its film tax rebate last month, it’s truly refreshing to see people still dedicated to producing work in and about the Great Lakes State.

Oeser, also an editor for shows on Comedy Central and IFC, is currently working on a feature script called Terrible Parents, which was recently featured through a live reading on the Blacklist Podcast. He’s currently working with the producers of Grand Zero, along with his manager at 3 Arts, to get Terrible Parents made into a movie, ideally with Oeser in the director’s chair.