‘Chili Finger’ Review: A Brilliant Judy Greer is a Clueless Scammer in This Starry Crime Caper With Coen Brothers Vibes

In 2005, a San Jose woman found a human finger in her Wendy’s chili. Well, she claimed to. When it was discovered that she planted the finger in the bowl herself for financial gain, she was sentenced to nine years in prison for the scam that cost the fast-food chain millions. Edd Benda and Stephen Helstad’s agile and entertaining crime caper “Chili Finger” is ripped from those headlines, but mostly fictionalized, opening with the caveat that only some of the events portrayed in the film are truth-based.

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The usually breezy script (by Helstad) is smart enough not to feel like a bargain version of the Coen brothers dark comedies it winks at, even when “Chili Finger” aggressively goes off the rails in its final chapter. Unfolding with an immersive pace to earn our attention and chuckles throughout, the film’s opening sequence is its most brilliant, with an employee of a beer bottling factory in the Midwest dropping his vape on the ledges of fast-moving machinery. While his dangerous attempts to reclaim it scream an impending disaster (frankly, he shouldn’t be operating heavy machinery while high), the loss of his finger still manages to play out as an uproarious surprise, setting the stage for the cheeky black comedy of twists and turns that follows.

Here, the scammer in question is played by the wonderful Judy Greer, whose recent villainous turn in the cozy snow mystery “Dead of Winter” was an inspired casting choice for the prolific actor known mostly for playing agreeable people. Her presence in “Chili Finger” made this critic wonder whether we’ve missed out on some great lead roles from Greer when she was mostly cast in supporting parts for a long while in the aughts. With “Chili Finger,” Greer finds a diverse range of opportunities to give both her comedic and dramatic muscles a workout as Jessica Lipki, a frustrated Midwestern divorce attorney Greer brings to life with a dangerous sense of mystique and relatable vulnerability.

Married to Sean Astin’s (also great) angelic Ron, whose constant naïve sweetness and idiosyncratic hobbies would be a little less irritating if he talked a little less and observed a little more, Jessica doesn’t seem to know how to navigate her newfound status as an empty-nester after sending her daughter off to the East Coast for college. It would be one thing if she and Ron could visit her for the upcoming parents weekend. But to the perennially strapped-for-cash couple, this seemingly ordinary trip would be nothing but an outrageous luxury.

With this grim financial reality at the backdrop, Helstad’s script subtly yet intelligently engages with the urgent economic anxieties of the American middle class, people who live paycheck to paycheck while barely making ends meet, and don’t have enough money to call an ambulance even when a workplace accident as severe as the one we witness early on takes place. Within this context, it’s halfway understandable why an emotionally strained, hardworking middle-aged person desperate to be a present parent in her daughter’s life would think of gaming the system that she legally knows so well. Her method might be despicable, but you can at least see how she rationalized it to herself. What’s wrong with a modest sum to afford a pair of economy-class airplane tickets, some fancy food on the dinner table for a change, and some humble home updates here and there? The insurance will pick up the tab anyway.

Enter the local fast-food chain Blake Junior’s that Ron is a big fan of, and their famous bowl of chili Jessica digs into. When the finger pops up in her food to the horror of the customers and waitstaff, the corporate negotiator to arrive is Blake Jr. II (Madeline Wise), who agrees to pay $100,000 for the damages. (Ron negotiates far beyond Jessica’s small initial offer, unknowingly upping the stakes of her scheme.) Except, business owner Blake Jr. I (a hardball and very welcome John Goodman, in case there is any doubt that we’re in a Coen-esque world) won’t have his reputation tarnished that easily. So he sends his sturdy pal Dave (a hilarious Bryan Cranston), an uncompromisingly tough ex-Marine who immediately sniffs something fishy in the incident.

Crime movies like this are often funny because the rookie criminals are clueless and incompetent, and things snowball beyond their wildest imagination with everyone demanding a slice of the loot they haven’t earned. That is certainly the case in the final act of “Chili Finger,” which also involves the fingerless and broke Trevor (Paul Stanko, the aforesaid factory worker) and his very pregnant girlfriend Nia (Sarah Herrman). Too bad the script feels less controlled and more directionless when each of these characters go head to head with an increasing body count across several bloody incidents.

And yet, “Chili Finger” is still a fun and riotous ride. Like a hearty bowl of (hopefully finger-free) chili would, it hits the spot.