Spilt Milk is Breakfast Club meets The Ref…in a grocery store. The bumper sticker version of this comedy of errors is Todd Wells (Jake Johnson) is a less than enthusiastic, assistant manager at a grocery store. Todd obviously hated his daily routine, as depicted of the morning montage that seemed to never end. I was also left to assume (though I’m not entirely sure) that Todd was part of the “cool kid” group in high school but somehow feel out of favor after a motorcycle accident, which I assume was the turning point in his life that led him to the night shift at the grocery store.

I don’t want to ruin this film for you in case you are planning on seeing it closing night, but basically Todd’s life, as well as the lives of his midnight customers change after a burglar takes them all hostage and robs the store. This is where we’re all taken back to more modern scenes of Breakfast Club, and a fighting mother/daughter pair drive the gun-toting robber, half insane, similarly to the dynamic of The Ref…without so many F-bombs though.

While the writing isn’t anything to write home about and is often times fairly cliche (pay attention to the “spilled milk” line towards the end), there are some funny, though cheeky, scenes, well-developed characters, new to the screen actors that play their roles well, and seven minutes on the back end that might be the most redeeming part of the whole film.

Am I dieing to go watch this again?? No. Is this the Dallas International Film Festival‘s best or worst 2011 pick? No. Would I suggest you spend your last $10 to go watch Spilt Milk? No. But if you’re bored Sunday night, and you want to support the Dallas Film Society because you’re just that nice of a person, catch it tomorrow night (Sunday, April 10, 7:30 pm) at Texas Theater. My final words of advice…you will laugh, but don’t expect too much.