''Rx'' is a 2005
romantic thriller
A romantic thriller is a narrative that involves elements of the romance and thriller genres.
A good thriller provides entertainment by making viewers uncomfortable with moments of suspense, the heightened feeling of anxiety and fright. A thril ...
film directed by
Ariel Vromen
Ariel Vromen ( he, אריאל ורומן; born February 14, 1973) is an Israeli film director and screenwriter best known for directing the 2012 American film '' The Iceman''.
Life and career
Vromen grew up in the Ramat Aviv neighbourhood of T ...
. It stars
Eric Balfour
Eric Salter Balfour (born April 24, 1977) is an American actor and singer. He is the lead singer of Born as Ghosts, formerly known as Fredalba. He made his film debut in the drama ''Shattered Image'' (1998), followed by roles in ''What Women Want' ...
,
Colin Hanks
Colin Lewes Hanks (born November 24, 1977) is an American actor. He has starred in films including ''Orange County'', ''King Kong'', ''The House Bunny'', ''The Great Buck Howard'', and the ''Jumanji'' film series. His television credits include ' ...
, and
Lauren German
Lauren Christine German is an American actress. She had her first major role in the 2002 teen romantic drama film ''A Walk to Remember'', followed by roles in the horror films ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' (2003) and '' Hostel: Part II'' (2007) ...
.
Plot
Three American friends travel across the border to a secret outdoor party in Mexico. While there, they visit Jonny's drug dealer Pepe, an American who has set up a drug dealing business in Mexico. While they are waiting, a local mechanic named Carlos offers to fix a bump on their car but they decline the offer. Andrew uses $2,000 he stole from his fast food job to buy a large amount of pills. He explains that he needs money to solve his financial problems at home and Jonny offers to help him swallow the bags of pills out of sympathy.
While at the border crossing, Jonny experiences extreme pain from the bags rupturing in his stomach so Andrew quickly turns the car around and drives to a hospital but is too afraid to go inside. When Jonny dies in the car, Andrew and Melissa hide his body in the front storage compartment of the car.
They drive back to Pepe's to ask for something to flush out the pills in Andrew's stomach. Pepe gives Andrew muscle relaxers and gives Melissa a tranquilizer to relax, then forces them to wear costumes for his party. During the party, Andrew breaks into Pepe's stash room and steals all of his money, nearly $20,000. While attempting to leave, he is caught by Pepe's guard Raul, who demands to look in the front storage compartment of the car. He finds Jonny's body and accidentally shoots it, then he tells Andrew and Melissa to lie down and prepares to shoot them. Raul looks away to shout to Pepe and Andrew knocks him over with a shovel, then Andrew and Melissa escape to the car and drive away.
They hide Jonny's body in a blanket off a dirt road in the hills then drive to a hotel for the night. During the night, Andrew leaves and wakes up Carlos (as well as his mother) to help him fix the broken window on the car to avoid suspicion at the border. Melissa notices him leaving and she leaves with the car herself. Carlos informs Pepe and Raul, who show up and beat Andrew, demanding the money. He says that it is in the car but they are unable to find the car there and assume that Melissa has intentionally left with the money. When they find her at the border control, Andrew hits the gas pedal to cause a collision and get the attention of the police. The police arrest Pepe for holding a weapon and Andrew stops at Melissa's car to say goodbye then gives the stolen money to a young girl selling flowers. He is stopped by the police and told to get on the ground but when he lifts his shirt to expose his handgun he is shot and killed. Melissa continues across the border to the United States.
Cast
*
Eric Balfour
Eric Salter Balfour (born April 24, 1977) is an American actor and singer. He is the lead singer of Born as Ghosts, formerly known as Fredalba. He made his film debut in the drama ''Shattered Image'' (1998), followed by roles in ''What Women Want' ...
as Andrew
*
Colin Hanks
Colin Lewes Hanks (born November 24, 1977) is an American actor. He has starred in films including ''Orange County'', ''King Kong'', ''The House Bunny'', ''The Great Buck Howard'', and the ''Jumanji'' film series. His television credits include ' ...
as Jonny
*
Lauren German
Lauren Christine German is an American actress. She had her first major role in the 2002 teen romantic drama film ''A Walk to Remember'', followed by roles in the horror films ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' (2003) and '' Hostel: Part II'' (2007) ...
as Melissa
*
Danny Pino
Daniel Gonzalo Pino (born April 15, 1974) is an American actor who starred as Detective Scotty Valens on the CBS series ''Cold Case'' from 2003 to 2010, and as NYPD Detective Nick Amaro in the long-running NBC legal drama '' Law & Order: Specia ...
as Carlos
*
Lulu Molina as Carlos's Mother
*
Alan Tudyk
Alan Wray Tudyk ( ;; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' with Sandra Bullock (2000), ''A Knight's Tale'' with Heath Ledger (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' with Vince Vaughn (2004) ...
as Pepe
*
Ori Pfeffer
Ori Pfeffer ( he, אורי פפר; born July 28, 1975) is an Israeli actor. He starred as Detective Golan Cohen in the TV-series ''Dig'' and in the movie ''Hacksaw Ridge''.
Personal life
Pfeffer was born in Jerusalem, Israel. He served as ...
as Raul
*
Adrian DeLira as Roadblock Federal
*
Jacob Duran as Indigent Man
*
Kei Kei Cadena as Young Mexican Woman
*
Arturo Portillo as Mexican Soldier at Cantina
*
Hector Radela as Mexican Soldier at Cantina
*
Alexandra Magallanes as Little Girl at Border
*
Michael Baldonado as Mexican Border Officer
*
Rudy Pérez
Rudy Amado Pérez (born May 14, 1958) is a Cuban-born American musician, songwriter, composer, producer, arranger, sound engineer, musical director and singer, as well as entertainment entrepreneur, and philanthropist. His area of specialty is b ...
as Mexican Border Officer
*
Rio Alexander as Border Peddler
*
Anthony Escobar as Drunk Man at Border
*
Rafaela Graffos as Mexican Woman at Border
*
Guy Camilleri
Guy or GUY may refer to:
Personal names
* Guy (given name)
* Guy (surname)
* That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart
Places
* Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet
* Guy, Arkansas, US, a city
* Guy, Indiana, US, an uninc ...
as US Customs Official
*
Richard Barela as Hospital Visitor
*
Patricia DeLozier as Raver
*
Stephen Eiland as Carmen Miranda
*
Lady Victoria Hervey
Lady Victoria Frederica Isabella Hervey (; born 6 October 1976) is an English model, socialite, aristocrat, and former "It girl". She is the daughter of the 6th Marquess of Bristol, half-sister of the 7th Marquess, and sister of the 8th Mar ...
as Daisy
*
Kristi Kountz as Raver
*
Chance Romero as Raver
*
Dyron C. Thompson as Raver - Angel of Death
*
Robert Douglas Washington as Todd McIntire
Production
Some filming took place in
Albuquerque
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
and
Sunland Park, New Mexico. During that time, the film was being produced under the working title ''RX Sin Receta''.
Release
The film premiered at the
RiverRun International Film Festival
The RiverRun International Film Festival is an annual Oscar-qualifying film festival held each spring in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The festival is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and presents a variety of feature-length and short films fro ...
on April 21, 2005. It was released on DVD in the Netherlands on October 25, 2005, in Germany on February 2, 2006, and in the United States on January 30, 2007. The film was released in some regions outside of the US under the alternate title ''Simple Lies''.
Reception
David Cornelius of eFilmCritic.com gave the film 2/5 and wrote: "What begins as an intriguing, intimate, even surprising drama turns midway into a lousy, hackneyed, too-hip-for-its-own-good thriller."
References
External links
*
{{Ariel Vromen
2005 films
2000s crime thriller films
2000s romantic thriller films
American crime thriller films
American romantic thriller films
Films directed by Ariel Vromen
Films shot in New Mexico
Films shot in El Paso, Texas
Films about the illegal drug trade
Films about drugs
Films set in Mexico
2005 directorial debut films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films