Kajillionaire

Kajillionaire videos

Cast & Crew

Evan Rachel Wood

Old Dolio

Gina Rodriguez

Melanie

Richard Jenkins

Robert

Debra Winger

Theresa

Patricia Belcher

Althea

Kim Estes

Victor

Da'Vine Joy Randolph

Jenny

Rachel Redleaf

Kelli

Miranda July

Director

Miranda July

Screenwriter

Dede Gardner

Producer

Youree Henley

Producer

Jeremy Kleiner

Producer

Megan Ellison

Executive Producer

Sarah Esberg

Executive Producer

Jillian Longnecker

Executive Producer

Brad Pitt

Executive Producer

Sebastian Winterø

Cinematographer

Jennifer Vecchiarello

Film Editing

Emile Mosseri

Original Music

Sam Lisenco

Production Design

Jessica Shorten

Art Director

Devynne Lauchner

Set Decoration

Jennifer Johnson

Costume Design

Mark Bennett

Casting

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News & Interviews for Kajillionaire

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Critic Reviews for Kajillionaire

Audience Reviews for Kajillionaire

• Mar 09, 2021

  My first experience with a Miranda July picture. Also my first experience with Evan Rachel Wood's Napoleon Dynamite impression. I'd like to say I enjoyed the former more than the latter, but really the only thing I enjoyed about the former was the latter, so... Well, the impression combined with the character's name, that is. The name itself is almost as instantly iconic as "Napoleon Dynamite", but again - this only makes me wish July had simply called her film, "Old Dolio" instead. Oh well, one of the many missed opportunities in this unassuming but somehow simultaneously pretentious dramedy that finds an infectious beat to march to, but can't nail down a hook. Good for you though, Gina Rodriguez. Good for you.

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  philip p Super Reviewer
• Nov 16, 2020

  If you're not familiar with quirky writer/director/performance artist Miranda July, she specializes in a special kind of weird that borders on surreal and also a surprising emotional poignancy. It's been 9 years since her last feature film, The Future, and she's back with what might be her most narratively focused and accessible yet still wonderfully weird movie yet. We follow a family of grifters (Richard Jenkins and Debra Winger as the parents) and their day-to-day struggle to con, skim, or steal enough money to get by to the next day. Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood) is their only child, and her role in the family is thrown into question when a new member joins their team. Melanie (Gina Rodriguez) has connections to a raft of senior citizens so desperate for attention that, if they all pose as Melanie's family, they should be able to con these old folks of possessions they can resell. From there, the movie becomes a push-and-pull relationship between Old Dolio and the influence of her shifty family, and she questions her place in this fringe unit and whether her parents actually love her or see her as another means to get a score. Kajillionaire is loose in plot but populated with interesting characters who feel fully realized by July's writing. She's so good at studying human behavior and capturing it that the quirky details all feel so genuine and meaningful. Even Old Dolio's name is a reminder of her parents' opportunism and problematic parenting skills. She was named after a homeless man who won the lottery under the hopes that he would be grateful and put her in his will (he ended up spending his fortune on experimental cancer drugs). That's the difference with July. A silly name could just be a disposable oddity, but for her it's a reflection of a character's worth and history. There are moments in the movie that achieve a level of artistic transcendence where every piece is humming beautifully together, like one moment where a dying elderly man off-screen directs the grifter family to pretend to be like his own flesh-and-blood family. They play pretend at domesticity, each assuming a doting role, and the tranquil scene of a fake family feels beautifully attuned. The moments stand out more than the whole but July's empathetic appreciation of human fallibility keeps her from ever condemning Old Dolio's scheming parents too much. Even the very end finds a way to turn betrayal into a message of humility. Wood (Westworld) drops her voice several octaves, wears baggy clothing, and looks extremely awkward when it comes to human contact. Rodriguez (Annihilation) is the voice of the audience and her test of how far she's willing to excuse the selfish behavior of this clan of cons. Her burgeoning friendship and maybe more with Old Dolio is a rewarding enterprise for the characters and the audience. Kajillionaire is a gentle little movie that plays at a low-key range of human emotions yet it can still be deftly funny and surprising and heartfelt on its own unique terms. With Miranda July, she makes weird entrancing and human. Nate's Grade: B+

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  nathan z Super Reviewer
• Sep 25, 2020

  ALL IN THE SCAMILY - My Review of KAJILLIONAIRE ★★★★ Are we forever fated to become our parents or is there a chance to carve out our own identities? This, the central question of Miranda July's wonderful new film, Kajillionaire, takes an original, engaging route towards such a discovery. July, best known for her first feature, Me and You and Everyone We Know, in which she also starred, applies her distinct quirkiness to her new film, but also infuses it with such empathy and warmth. The film, which at first gave me Napoleon Dynamite vibes, erupts into such an unironic, gimmick free thing of beauty by the end, that I may have invented a new emotion, the "tear gasp". Evan Rachel Wood stars as Old Dolio (the origins of which get explained in the film), the 26-year-old daughter to a pair of small-time Los Angeles scam artists, Theresa (Debra Winger) and Robert (Richard Jenkins). An inseparable trio, they engage in petty theft, exchanging gift certificates for money, and anything else they can desperately conjure up in order to maintain their meager existence. They live in a cruddy $500 a month office space owned by the neighboring Bubbles Inc. With such cheap rent comes one tiny inconvenience. Two or three times a day, pink bubbles from next door spill over their wall, forcing them to face this Sisyphean task with buckets at the ready. Although it serves as a metaphor for their scavenger existence, always facing uphill battles, July presents it as a simple truth in their lives. Whether staking out a post office to steal a parcel as if it were a military drill, or contorting their bodies to avoid being seen by their landlord, the family may seem odd, but their struggles feel universal. Old Dolio wears her long stringy mane just like her mother's and knows nothing about life outside of their bubble. She speaks in a deep croak not unlike Winger's famous one, and dresses in loose-fitting, gender neutral clothing. It seems as if her whole life revolves around serving her parents' needs. One day, however they meet Melanie (Gina Rodriguez) on an airplane during one of their more elaborate schemes, and their new friend wants in on the action. They plan to collect insurance money from the airline by claiming they lost Old Dolio's luggage. Needless to say, the family didn't think through how long it would take to collect the money, so they quickly need to conjure up another idea. Melanie seems suited for this life when she admits she initially lied to everyone about her profession. She may be the audience surrogate, getting answers to questions we may have, but she also has a bit of the con artist in her as well. As Old Dolio gets to know Melanie better, it opens her up to the possibility of a life beyond her immediate family. When the quartet agree to go in together on a scam to bilk elderly people of their possessions, things take a turn. Their idea, to carry on as a family, pretending to eat dinner and fuss around the house as their victim listens from their death bed, allows them to scope out various antiques they can steal and sell. This role-playing awakens something in Old Dolio as she sees a family unit she never really had. Theresa even admits later that if she wanted parents who showered their child with gifts, made pancakes, danced around, and spread joy, then she signed up for the wrong family. You see, Theresa and Robert are who they are, and they make no apologies for it. Old Dolio, in a sense, is trapped, feeling the need to always satisfy them. Melanie's intrusion into their lives, however, gives Old Dolio pause about this situation. Melanie has an assured personality and a confident gait. She's direct, unflappable, and always knows how to calmly get out of tough situations. As Old Dolio sees this, it makes her question everything. Along with the bubbling foam, July uses earthquakes as a metaphor, with frequent tremors reminding us of the fragile situation. As I describe this, I understand the film may sound more bizarre than it actually is, because, in truth, it has a truly touching, heartfelt tone. Sam Lisenco's lived in production design and Sebastian Winterø's natural cinematography make their world so believable. Emile Mosseri, who did such a beautiful job with The Last Black Man In San Francisco, delivers a fascinating, understated score which seems attuned to this family's insulated world. I also enjoyed a small supporting turn by Da'Vine Joy Randolph, the scene stealer from Dolemite Is My Name, as a befuddled bystander to one of Old Dolio's cons. All of this enriches the revelatory performances by Wood and Rodriguez. Wood finds such depth in a character which could easily have just been played for laughs. As lame as it may sound, you really do feel like you're watching a caterpillar transform into a butterfly as she discovers new sensations such as touching, hugging, kissing, and caring. Rodriguez sails through her role with an unerring sense of positivity. She senses the trap Old Dolio is in, and just takes charge. After her comedic stint on Jane The Virgin, Rodriguez shows she can slow things down and let her character breathe. She oozes charisma and intelligence here and more than holds her own next to her formidable cast mates. Top of that list are Jenkins and Winger, who make a fantastic pair, lost in their own little worlds. Witness Winger's reaction to airplane turbulence or Jenkins trying to feign normalcy when we know he's always itching to con someone. One may think of them as flawed people or narcissists, but they undeniably know who they are and how they want to live. Since Winger is my favorite living actor, I only wish we could have had more of her in this film. Although essential to the story, I would have liked more time with the parents, especially when portrayed by two greats. They present such an interesting dichotomy as terrible parents who somehow love their child in unexpected ways. Their somewhat short screen time feels like a minor quibble in a film packed with such punch and originality. One scene, following a much bigger earthquake, astounded me with July's bravery in choosing to cut to black over two characters forming an intimate bond. Kajillionaire also surprised me with its queerness, first as a story of often overlooked outcasts and second as a beautiful exploration of a queer relationship. The less said about the latter, the better, as it gets revealed in such unpredictable ways. As it shows us the struggles of leaving the nest, it also shows us those first steps towards evolving and growing. That it does so without ever losing sight of the heist storyline, which plays out right until the very end, is a testament to July and her talented cast and crew. It proves that a movie can co-exist as an edgy comedy and as something more sentimental without compromising either.

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  glenn g Super Reviewer