DVD: Breaking Wind, Unrated Director's Cut

 One of the greatest measures of a film’s success isn’t huge box office receipts or even getting big awards…it’s inspiring a parody. The Twilight series may find this a dubious distinction, however, when the tribute is as ridiculous as Breaking Wind.

Though the title implies a send-up of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1, the movie more closely follows Eclipse, beginning with the attack on Ronald (the character who was named Riley, played here by Michael Adam Hamilton) in Seattle. It is at this point, not even two minutes into the movie, viewers are treated to the first of many flatulence jokes, leading into the credits.

Cut to Bella (Heather Ann Davis) and Edward (Eric Callero), sitting in a meadow and meeting up with Bella’s grandmother, and the audience gets the first of many sex jokes. This pretty much sets up the pattern of the rest of the film. Fart joke. Penis joke. Fart joke. Big vagina joke. Fart joke. Homosexual joke. And so on. It’s definitely NOT a film for family movie night with the little kiddies.

Writer/director Craig Moss (The 41-Year-Old-Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It) apparently felt the need to add all the sex and profanity that Stephenie Meyer left out of the Twilight saga, turning ‘imprinting’ into another word for ‘masturbation,’ and giving Bella a penchant for African-American men and an allegedly huge vagina. The sex is so in-your-face (literally) that the movie is just a few orgies shy of being a porno.

Amid the sea of adolescent humor are a few worthwhile scraps. It’s amusing that the werewolf clan is (mostly) made up of overweight guys flashing their monstrous bellies with the confidence of body builders, and that they never change form once during the film. In particular, Frank Pacheco as Jacob is a weak ray of sunlight peeking through this cloudy mess.

By far, the funniest scene (and the only one to embrace the parody movie tendency to incorporate bits of other movies) involves the legend of the cold ones, and incorporates the many characters of Johnny Depp and an Avatar. Alas, those two minutes of celluloid can’t keep this train from jumping the tracks.

While keeping very close to the story of the original films, the addition of two mini Cullens (Edward and Jasper) is confusing and silly, but less offensive by far than the majority of the movie. Little Edward also plays a pivotal role in the reenactment of Breaking Dawn—Part 1 (which this movie summarizes in a lightning-fast three minutes).

The Unrated Director’s Cut DVD (Lionsgate, MSRP: $26.98) contains two featurettes and a commentary track by Moss and the cast. Surprisingly, the audio commentary is not only great, it also vastly improves the experience of the movie. It’s far more interesting to learn that Alice is played by Ashley Greene’s photo double (Alice Rietveld) in the Twilight films than it is to watch Rietveld play the part, and Davis and Callero are far more charismatic in their voice-over than on-screen. Comedian Pacheco also lives up to his reputation.

For such an embarrassing movie, the producers of Breaking Wind actually went to a great deal of trouble to maintain some authenticity, as shown in the “Behind the Scenes” featurette. From locations and wardrobe to outright shot duplications and hiring actors with uncanny resemblances to the original characters—particularly Carlisle (John Stevenson) and Charlie (Flip Schultz)—there was a concerted effort to keep true to the feel of the source material. It’s a shame, really, that there wasn’t a much better end product after going to such effort.

“The Heart Warming Embrace of Edward and Jacob” is a series of outtakes of a scene featuring Bella and her two suitors that is, to say the least, a different take on the fight between the vampire and werewolf that took place in Eclipse. There are also trailers for Disaster Movie and Scary Movie 3 included.

Although facetiously dedicated to Twihards, whom the film showcases in the end credits, Breaking Wind is offensive to both Twilight lovers and haters and is sure to be equally reviled by both. Fans of parody would be much better off watching one of the vastly superior films in the trailer gallery.

Breaking Wind is now available on DVD.

Published on LifeInLA.com

DVD: The Descendents

 Hawaii is often thought of as a vacation destination, a tropical paradise where beaches and sunny days make it easy to forget life’s cares. The Descendants, however, which is set in Hawaii, exposes the inevitable other side of paradise, where real life and family tragedy exist among the coconut palms.

Now available on a single-disc DVD (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, MSRP: $29.98) and two-disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack (MSRP: $39.99), the Academy Award-winning film is one of those so-called quiet movies: there isn’t much action, and though there is plenty of drama, it’s more internal than expressed in bursts of violence or passion.

Adapted from the debut novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings, the story revolves around real estate lawyer Matt King (George Clooney), reeling after his thrill-seeking wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) lapses into a coma following a boating accident. For years, Matt has been coasting along as the “backup parent” to his spirited daughters, 10-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller) and 17-year-old Alexandra (Shailene Woodley), and is only beginning to see how troubled both truly are.

As he deals with Scottie’s bullying behavior at school and Alex’s emotional detachment, he aches for his wife’s return to health. However, Matt’s cluelessness has extended to his personal life as well, as fresh-out-of-rehab Alex informs him that his wife had been having an affair. He struggles to come to terms with this news just as the doctors inform him that his wife is deteriorating, and the terms of her living will specify that they must terminate life support soon.

It becomes Matt’s job to inform relatives and friends of Elizabeth’s condition, in order to allow them the opportunity to say good-bye. He enlists Alex’s help—and she, in turn, brings along surfer friend Sid (Nick Krause). The reactions vary from tears to anger (and earn Sid a punch in the eye), but all agree to make the trip to the hospital to say their farewells. After discovering the identity of the man his wife was seeing, Matt ultimately decides to reach out to her lover (a subdued Matthew Lillard) as well.

At the eye of this swirling hurricane of emotional trauma is a land sale being brokered by Matt’s family. As the descendants of Hawaiian missionaries and a Hawaiian princess, the family trust fell heir to a huge tract of undeveloped land on Kauai, of which Matt is the trustee. The cousins are all gathering to vote on one of the billion-dollar bids, foremost of which include selling to a local investor, which Matt himself backed, but a new development suddenly has him rethinking his strategy as both a businessman and a parent.

Though the surface emotions rise and fall as gently as the Hawaiian surf, the actors all do an outstanding job of portraying the simmering undercurrents in each scene. Woodley and Miller, in particular, exhibit the unwilling maturity of kids whose parents are too busy fighting their own demons to notice the problems at home, while still maintaining a child-like innocence at their core.

Clooney rightly deserved his Academy Award nomination, embodying Matt’s tepid personality and discomfort with the turns his life takes with subtlety and just enough gravitas. Both Robert Forster (as Elizabeth’s angry father) and Beau Bridges (as the beach-bum cousin Hugh) are terrific counterpoints to Clooney’s middle-of-the-road expressions, and each differently highlights Matt’s ultimate inability to engage in his own life.

One of the uncredited stars of the film has to be the state of Hawaii itself, as the gently swaying trees and cultural iconography all permeate the story, lulling the viewer with its lush beauty and distracting them from the harsh realities of the story.

The single-disc DVD contains a few special features, along with the theatrical trailer and some sneak peeks of upcoming releases.

First off, it’s not just females who swoon over Clooney. The featurette “Everybody Loves George” shows why the actor is a guy’s guy, an actor’s best friend, a director’s dream and an all-around great guy. Funnier than his movie roles, Clooney is revealed as a prankster, impersonator and a teller of great tales.

Directors can be a quirky bunch, and the featurette “Working with Alexander” showcases just how true that is of Oscar winner Alexander Payne (Sideways, Election). Also functioning as a co-writer and producer of the film, Payne wore many hats throughout the process, and was universally beloved by the cast and crew (as these testimonials show). As laid-back as the islands on which they filmed, this short feature is a perfect portrait of an artist (and also showcases a couple of no-fail omelet techniques to boot).

If, as the adage goes, into every life a little rain must fall, where better to endure a storm than the Hawaiian islands? In “Hawaiian Style,” viewers are treated to the many things that make Hawaii a special place to film. From the blessing on the first day of shooting to the colorful expressions picked up by all, it is clear that family made up of cast and crew were far more functional than the fictional Kings.

The Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack adds to the extras four additional featurettes (“The Real Descendants,” “Casting,” “Working with Water” and “Waiting for the Light”), the silent film The World Parade—Hawaii, a conversation with George Clooney and Alexander Payne, three music videos (“Honolulu’s Whisper,” “Postcards from Paradise” and “Will I Ever See You Again”), deleted scenes and a digital copy of the film.

While the ending of The Descendants isn’t wrapped up in a bow (or even a brightly colored lei), there are a few rays of hope penetrating the overall sadness for the family’s future. If anything, this movie should make viewers appreciate their own families a bit more…and perhaps plan to spend some time with them on that long dreamed of trip to Hawaii.

The Descendants is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. 

Posted on LifeInLA.com

Shopping: Men's Bracelets

Courtesy of Night Rider

Shake hands with a businessman or hipster these days and you may catch a peek of the latest trend for men: the wrist tangle, or so-called Kanye bracelets.

The trend, sparked by singer Kanye West’s mix of gold and fabric wrist-wear at the 2011 Coachella music festival, has gained enough momentum to rate a mention in February’s New York Times Style section, and has landed firmly in Las Vegas.

Jennifer Miller, director of marketing for MJ Christensen Diamonds, a 2011 Best of Las Vegas reader’s pick for Best Jewelry Store, defined the type of customer most likely to embrace this trend as “current, on trend and doesn’t really care what others think. He’s definitely an independent spirit with a lot of confidence and a passion for jewelry.”

Kyle Anderson, a loan officer in New York, picked up a David Yurman bracelet at the Fashion Show Mall during his visit to Las Vegas. It is the third in his collection, which included a leather bracelet given to him by a girlfriend years earlier and a woven parachute cord piece he got at Christmas.

“I’m not really into too much flash, but this trend feels like me,” he said. “It’s not over-the-top bling.”
The beauty of this trend is that guys like Anderson can mix inexpensive pieces with more high-end brands.

“We see a lot of mixing and stacking of different textures,” Miller said. “A lot of designers are coming out with the parachute material, and people are layering that with sterling silver.”

Besides making a fashion statement, a few brands also make a philanthropic gesture as well.

“We have paper beads that are made in Uganda, Africa from recycled paper that benefits a group of impoverished women there,” Miller pointed out, adding that the company just reached a $100,000 in sales that all go to BeadForLife.org. “There are also some made from parachute cord that helps soldiers who are relocating to America after being at war. When you mix the charity in with the high end, it’s a really cool vibe.”

For those looking to break into the trend, Miller suggested a classic woven sterling sliver bracelet, such as ones made by John Hardy or the Arizona-based company Night Rider.

As for cost, “You can pretty much start at $5 to wherever you’d like to spend,” Miller said. “The Bead For Life recycled paper beads begin at $5, but the sky is the limit. There are different brands for different gentlemen. Find what his passions are and what story he’d like to tell, and then match the jewelry with his personal needs.”

While wearing a wrist full of color isn’t Anderson’s goal, he likes the mix-and-match effect of his set and plans to add a nice watch later this year.

“I’ve got my eye on a Tag Heuer,” he said. “Why not? After all these years getting presents for girlfriends, I think it’s fun to get something for me.”

Published on BestofLasVegas.com

Blu-ray: Footloose

  Remakes and updates abounded in 2011, but the decision by Paramount to green light a new version of Footloose was met with mixed reactions, as it’s a film that some claim is an American classic. One of those movies that inspired a generation, the original film launched the career of Kevin Bacon and helped establish Kenny Loggins’ reputation as the 1980s King of Soundtracks. Even today, who doesn’t hear the opening bars of the title track without immediately getting into the party spirit?

What most people fail to remember about the 1984 film, though, is that it was only so-so, mainly a vehicle for the soundtrack that went on to spawn a number of hits. Despite a few iconic scenes, the movie was basically cinematic fluff to pass the time before The Karate Kid came out later that year.

The 2011 Footloose is in almost every way a better movie than the original. Writer/director Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan) took on the task of modernizing the tale of a small town that blamed dancing and modern music for the crash that took the lives of five teenagers years earlier.

This time around, the leads are played by newcomer Kenny Wormald (as Ren) and a made-under Julianne Hough (playing the reverend’s daughter, Ariel). Wormald is perfectly cast as the big-city boy with a chip on his shoulder, while Hough portrays the rebellious teen with a much softer edge than Lori Singer did in the original.

For those few who never saw the original (or don’t recall the movie), the story goes like this: a few years back, at a post-game party, teens got drunk, drove home and were killed in a car wreck, prompting the town elders to set forth a regulation prohibiting public dancing and loud music. Three years later, Ren comes to live with his aunt and uncle after his mother passes away and falls for the reverend’s daughter (whose brother was killed in the aforementioned crash). Rebellion ensues as the kids try to have a prom with dancing and the town shuts them down.

Dennis Quaid is great as Reverend Shaw Moore, and Andie MacDowell oozes Southern charm as his loyal wife. Also turning great performances are Ray McKinnon and Kim Dickens (Uncle Wes and Aunt Lulu) and Ziah Colon as Ariel’s best bud Rusty.

There are a few changes from the original storyline, most obviously the location changes. Bomont is now located in Texas instead of Utah, and the bad-boy Ren now hails from Boston rather than Chicago, probably because Wormald’s native Boston accent is such a great counterpoint to the Texas twang of his best bud Willard (a scene-stealing Miles Teller). This cast also includes more characters of ethnicity (which is to say there actually are some).

A big fan of the original film, Brewer tries to keep as much continuity as possible between the two films while still filming a modern movie. Sticking so close to the first version should have made this Footloose just as mediocre of a movie as Bacon’s version, but Brewer is somehow able to wring more personality and presence from one scene than much of that first effort contained in its entirety. This Footloose feels like less of a remake, and more of a “how it should have been made.”

If there is anywhere the remake falls short, it’s the music. While a variety of genres are represented on the soundtrack (from Quiet Riot to Cee Lo Green), there is a decidedly country-music spin on the majority of the tracks. This isn’t what makes it less appealing than the Kenny Loggins-led songs, however—that fault lies mostly with the fact that the songs themselves feel outdated. In a film about dancing and the power of music, that seems to be a big miss.

The director’s commentary track on the Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack (Paramount Home Media Distribution, MSRP: $44.99) goes into much more detail about what influenced Brewer’s directorial decisions, and reveals that he was very much in-the-know about how deeply reviled he was for even taking on such a project. However, hearing him talk about making this version should leave little doubt that he wanted to do the story justice.

“Jump Back: Re-imagining Footloose” goes into detail about what Brewer decided to change and what bits he felt were essential to keep in order to honor the source material (Ariel’s red boots and Ren’s Volkswagen are just two examples, as well as the clever recreation of the dancing-feet opener).

The Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack also features five deleted scenes, one of which— “Reverend Shaw’s Speech”—does a lot to give the older folks’ perspective. Viewers can also watch the scenes with optional commentary by Brewer.

Two mini-documentary features are devoted to the film’s stars. “Everybody Cut: The Stars of Footloose” gives viewers more background about the main characters, as well as the largely unknown cast, while “Dancing with the Footloose Stars” showcases the dance moves and training of said cast.

The two-disc Combo Pack also includes three full-length music videos: Big & Rich’s rowdy party song “Fake ID,” Blake Shelton’s take on “Footloose” and the moody Ella Mae Bowen version of “Holding Out for a Hero.”

The most fun of the special features, “Footloose Rap,” features YouTube sensation Emily Whitcomb and her original rap that perfectly summarizes the storyline from the point of view of Ariel. Whitcomb joined the cast at a screening of the film in Minneapolis and was asked to “remake” her performance in front of the crowd, with Brewer, Wormald and Hough as backup. The result is kitchy and fun.

The DVD that comes with the Combo Pack only holds the movie and an Ultraviolet digital copy. The single-disc DVD release (MSRP: $29.99), however, comes with the director’s commentary track, three deleted scenes and the “Fake ID” music video, along with an Ultraviolet digital copy.

Footloose then and now are still pretty much popcorn movies: lightweight entertainment that won’t change the world, but will certainly inspire viewers to jump off the couch and dance. Fans of “Dancing with the Stars’” Hough, though, won’t be disappointed in her acting chops, and a whole new generation should now be inspired by phrase “Everybody cut….”

Footloose is now available on DVD and Blu-ray.


Published on LifeInLA.com

Shopping: Pawn Shop Deals

Budgets are tightening all over the country, and people are looking for ways to save on the products they buy. Craigslist, eBay and even Goodwill can yield some deals on pre-owned merchandise, but there is another source becoming more and more popular: pawn shops.

Once regarded as sleazy, dirty or borderline criminal, pawn shops have undergone a reputation overhaul thanks to shows like the History Channel’s “Pawn Stars,” featuring Las Vegas’ own Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, at 713 S. Las Vegas Blvd.

More people are opting to sell their high-end items, from flat screen televisions to tablet computers, for fast cash. These items are then sold to the public at prices that are 30 to 60 percent cheaper than retail prices.

Mitchell Weinstein, a pawnbroker with MaxPawn at 2400 S. Jones Blvd., said that “anything you can buy in a pawn shop, you’re going to get a deal because they items are used, from jewlery to the name-brand purses that (MaxPawn) is famous for.”

Some of the best buys in a pawn shop will be jewelry, high-end tools, musical instruments and small items like DVD or Blu-ray movies, which can often be had for a few dollars each. There are even bargains available on firearms.

“If you’re a local and can show ID, we can call in the (purchase) from here and get you approved so you can leave with your purchase the same day,” Weinstein said.

Televisions, video game consoles and even laptops are also popular items at the pawn shops. Though once considered a risky purchase, as the quality could not be guaranteed, most shops now have a 30-day return policy on electronics.

Las Vegas resident Sarah Whitney chose to visit SuperPawn at 1100 W. Sunset Road when she was looking for a new iPod Touch last year.

“A friend told me he got his there and that it was in good condition,” she said. “I checked to see if they had what I wanted, and they did,” she said. “I ended up paying at least half, if not more, of what a new one would have cost.”

Another secret of pawn shop purchasing is that the price tag isn’t always what the sales price may be.
“No matter what’s on the tag, for instance, a watch for $599, if you asked to see that watch and said you really liked it, and would we take $250 for it, you might just have yourself a deal,” Weinstein said.

“I expected it to be more ghetto, but it was actually really nice and the (merchandise) had a good presentation,” Whitney, who had never gone into a pawn shop before, said. “I didn’t feel in any way sleazy or thrown together.”

“Here at MaxPawn, we have a higher standard,” Weinstein said. “Our motto is, if we don’t treat the customer as number one, someone else will.”

Although some still hold onto the image of a pawn shop as a thinly-veiled fence for stolen goods, Weinstein assured that they, and other pawn shops in the city, work closely with the Metropolitan Police Department’s Pawn Shop Detail in order to keep inventory as clean as possible.

“It’s a judgment call,” Weinstein said, “but we’ve been doing this a long time. There are people we’ve turned down, and even items that we put on a 30-day hold in order to make contact with the task force to make sure they’re not from somebody’s home.”

Published on BestofLasVegas.com

DVD: Jack and Jill

 Adam Sandler fans are a very forgiving bunch who seem to know that, for every Anger Management the star has produced, a You Don’t Mess with the Zohan seems to follow. And yet, they ride out the mediocre in hopes of the next Big Daddy or The Wedding Singer. Sadly, that movie definitely isn’t Jack and Jill.

The premise of the film is thin at best. Sandler plays Jack Sadelstein, a successful advertising executive in Los Angeles with a picture-perfect wife (a bland Katie Holmes) and two kids—the girly girl Sofia (Elodie Tougne) and Scotch tape-obsessed Gary (Rohan Chand). As the movie opens, the family is looking forward to Thanksgiving—and dreading the annual arrival of Jack’s nemesis, his identical twin sister, Jill (also Sandler). A montage during the opening credits illustrates the many ways Jack has been annoyed by his sister since birth (or the multiple ways he’s been a total jerk, depending on the audience’s point of view).

Clearly, Jack is far more bothered by his brash New Jersey-based sibling than anyone else in his family, who all seem to take her quirks in stride. For her part, Jill loves her brother and simply wants to be closer to him, especially now that their mother has passed away. Dinnertime friction ends in a major fight, followed by Jill’s decision to extend her stay so the two can “work things out.”

The character of Jill is played as a passive-aggressive whiner with a thick Bronx accent, yet it’s Jack who is the more annoying of the two. His selfish, mean-spirited nature makes filmgoers wonder why his sister even bothers. Nevertheless, a few days becomes a few weeks, and Jill runs the risk of becoming a permanent fixture.

Hampering Jack’s attempts to run his sister out of town are two potential love interests: the landscaper, Felipe (Eugenio Derbez), and—no joke—Al Pacino. Yes, that Al Pacino. Playing a cartoon parody of himself, the Godfather vet falls head-over-heels for the manly Jill, citing their common Bronx background as the basis of the love connection. Jack needs Pacino to agree to do a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial shoot or his job is on the line, so he is torn between wanting his sister on the next plane out of town and pimping her to lure Pacino into a contract.

The rest of the story doesn’t matter much, as it only exists as a vehicle for the numerous celebrity cameos popping up like the rodents in a Whac-A-Mole game. It comes to mind that this would make Jack and Jill an excellent drinking game movie—if players took a shot each time a famous face showed up, they’d be passed out before the first hour was up. The bit parts vary from painful (the ShamWow guy?) to very funny (Norm MacDonald as a creepy blind date, Dana Carvey as a stomach-puppeteer). The funniest appearance, however, has to be Johnny Depp at a Lakers game. Sporting a Justin Bieber T-shirt and his trademark lazy grin, Depp clearly took the role with the seriousness it deserved. “Were you in Duran Duran?” Jill screeches at him. “Yes,” he says without a trace of irony.

The final third of the movie takes a break from the agonizing sibling rivalry to make a commercial for the Royal Caribbean cruise line before diving into the inevitable Jack-dressed-as-Jill bit, and the realization that Jack’s been a huge ass.

Now for the positives: Sandler takes the character of Jill further than just being himself in a dress. Throughout the film, it is entirely possible to forget that the same person inhabits both roles, and there is even enough shading and depth between his portrayals of Jill and Jack-playing-Jill that the two are very separate. Although the movie as a whole is a disorganized mess, there are funny and original bits. And finally, Sandler fans can take heart that the lows to which this movie sinks can only mean the upcoming That’s My Boy has nowhere to go but up.

After slogging through the film, viewers might enjoy some of the special features. The DVD (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, MSRP: $30.99), Blu-ray (MSRP: $35.99) and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack (MSRP: $40.99) all offer “Laughing is Contagious,” an obligatory blooper reel that shows viewers how much fun it was to make the film and what a great time everyone had ad-libbing and riffing off of each other. It is interesting to watch the enthusiasm of the actors between takes, as those moments are full of more humor than the final product.

Although it’s usually easy to see why deleted scenes were cut, the multitude of extra footage included on Jack and Jill is roughly the same quality as the rest of the film, which is to say sophomoric. Any of the 13 scenes could have been interchanged with what ended up in the theatrical release without any discernible change in quality.

Uncover the magic behind the transformation of Sandler from a him to a her in “Boys Will Be Girls.” While not precisely method acting, Sandler does admit that the clothing and makeup were challenging but necessary to his portrayal. The featurette also explores the alter-egos of some of the other females-played-by-males in the film, including Derbez as his character’s own grandmother.

One of the most worthwhile features is “Look Who Stopped By,” a comprehensive look at the nearly two dozen cameo appearances in the movie, from an angry John McEnroe to a bewildered Bruce Jenner, from the laid-back Drew Carey to a hammy-in-more-ways-than-one Shaquille O’Neal. (Those good at math will surely notice that, at 91 minutes, the movie averages a wink-wink, nudge-nudge appearance approximately every four minutes.)

The Blu-ray releases add just two exclusive extras to the package, “Stomach Ache” and “Don’t Call It A Boat—Royal Caribbean,” as well as an UltraViolet digital copy of the film.

In review: frat boys, adolescents and multiples who enjoy films about twins should find something to enjoy about Jack and Jill. Anyone else looking for vintage Sandler humor should just pop in a DVD of Grown Ups instead.

Jack and Jill is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. 

Posted on LifeInLA.com

Shopping: Mystery Shopping Jobs

Get paid to shop! Enjoy free dinners and merchandise! Work on your own schedule! With the economy in a slump and jobs hard to come by, ads like these seem incredibly appealing. But are they on the level?

It helps first to know a bit about what mystery shopping is.

Retailers, businesses and restaurants may at one time or another want to gauge their employees’ customer service skills, adherence to procedure or training in a real-world environment. These companies will then hire people to pose as customers with a specific agenda, then to report their findings back to those companies.

Helen Rodriguez has been a mystery shopper for a national restaurant chain for more than 15 years.

“I go in and order an appetizer, an entrée and dessert and watch for the cleanliness of the restaurant, quality of the food and the service,” she said. “I always have to take someone with me, so I have a lot of friends who keep in touch.”

In return, Rodriguez is paid $50 and reimbursed for the bill.

The job is far from a walk in the park. Good shoppers must be over 18 years old, have a great attention to detail, the ability to write a clear, fact-based summary of their experiences and, in most cases, be computer literate. Each company provides their own guidelines for what they hope to accomplish with each job, which are paid anywhere from $10 to $50 or more.

Assignments are filled on an application basis from a pool of qualified shoppers, who are free to accept as many (or few) jobs as their schedules allow. Payment typically includes reimbursement of goods or services being shopped, but vary by assignment. In fact, there are jobs that even allow shoppers to keep their merchandise.

Now for the bad news: although most other states allow mystery shoppers to be independent contractors, as of 2005, Nevada has much stricter regulations that require potential shoppers to undergo a background check, get a sheriff’s card and register with the Private Investigators Licensing Board as either a private investigator or an employee of a licensed firm, all of which are at the applicant’s expense (a small price to pay compared to the fines of up to $2,500 per shop without proper documentation.)

Those still interested in applying for secret shopper jobs will need to have a few things handy before starting the application. Most sites require a job history of at least five years; a current photo is sometimes requested; and, in many cases, a short sample narrative is required. Once the initial application has been processed, applicants should expect one or two more in-person or phone interviews before getting an offer, usually followed by training.

Even after the long process, the job can be fulfilling, said Julie Hill.

“It’s not for everyone, and you don’t make a lot of money, but it is great for a little income and you can feel good about what you are doing,” said Hill, a stay-at-home mother of two who mystery shops for a national retail chain. “You have to be aware of a lot of things on your checklist the company gives you, and it’s really specific. Did they bring you what you asked for, mention specials, hand you the receipt not just put it in the bag? And sometimes you know that your report, if it’s bad, is going to cause problems for the employees. And you have to be available when they need you. Slackers need not apply.”

There are only a handful of agencies licensed to run mystery shops in Nevada, but there are a great many internet companies promising jobs for a small administrative fee. At no time should applicants ever need to pay for the information, as it is readily available online for free. Here are the agencies currently licensed to operate mystery shopping operations in Nevada: Service Sleuth; QSI Specialists; Bestmark, Inc.; The Benchmark Collaborative; and A Closer Look.

Published on BestOfLasVegas.com