Up until this point, Denny’s biggest jobs have been bike thefts. Even those entail more risk and more follow-up than he is generally comfortable with. Often, he rifles through unlocked cars. That is how he snags Charles Chandler’s wallet. Consequently, Charles Chandler will be the name he uses when he signs up with a pen pal service advertised in the classified section.
Of course, he must regularly search Chandler’s mail box for his letters from Tessa. Naturally, he then tries to pass off Chandler tony house, car, and lifestyle as his own. Inadvertently, that makes him look like an ideal mark to Tessa and her boyfriend, Maury, who runs the pen pal scam. Unfortunately, they will need more than the typical “rent payments” they usually start out asking for. Maury has some serious gambling debts, so they head to Salt Lake City, for an IRL meeting with “Chandler.”
Mouse is not a great title, but it is an interesting film. In a way, it is like an incredibly dark and cynical modern O. Henry story. There is also a bit of the Flim-Flam Man, but in this case, Tessa and Maury con honest but desperately lonely men all the time. It is set, for obvious reasons, during the early-internet, flip phone era, when newspaper classified ads still existed. Nevertheless, the concept of a snail mail pen pal still seems almost outdated, but maybe that is part of the allure.
Regardless, Riches and Sarah Coffey both deliver fascinating performances as Denny and Tessa that really tip them both as talent to watch. These are probably the most flawed characters you will spend willingly entire an entire film with. Viewers will experience decidedly mixed feelings towards them both, in the best way possible.
