‘Buffaloed’ Review: At Debt’s Door

"Zoey Deutch’s pell-mell performance gives this debt-collection comedy the energy it needs."

A bouncy version of the old show tune “(You Gotta Have) Heart” introduces Tanya Wexler’s “Buffaloed” and its incorrigible heroine, Peg Dahl (Zoey Deutch) — a woman in constant, agitated motion. We meet her charging toward a showdown with her nemesis, Wizz (a marvelously sleazy Jai Courtney), her possession of a heart still to be determined. What she does have, though, is a mouth.

Often, she uses it to insult Buffalo’s football team, its chicken-cartilage delicacies and its stagnating economy. An inveterate and gifted small-time hustler, Peg dreams of an Ivy League education and financial freedom. A stretch in jail for forgery scarcely dims her ambition; and when she’s hounded by debt collectors — and learns that delinquent debt is Buffalo’s main industry — she persuades Wizz to give her a desk in his scummy collection agency. Of course, she’s a natural.

Simultaneously rowdy and slick, “Buffaloed” is exuberantly paced and entirely dependent on Deutch’s moxie and pell-mell performance. Brian Sacca’s script is zippily entertaining as Peg starts her own shop and hires a misfit crew of money-grabbers whose success ignites an interagency war. At this point, the movie’s focus on pitch-black, blue-collar comedy is diffused by a hectic series of escalating attacks and reprisals; but Guy Godfree’s cinematography remains bright and breezy and the supporting actors — especially Judy Greer as Peg’s worn-out single mother — never miss a beat.

Reminiscent of “The Big Short” (2015), Peg’s snappy, direct-to-camera lessons on the collections industry present debtors as eternally fruitful marks. Unlike the earlier movie, though, “Buffaloed” isn’t particularly outraged; it’s just grateful that Peg and her talents have finally found a home.

Buffaloed

Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes.

New York Times