Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly wrote and directed Queenpins, an upcoming American comedy film. Kristen Bell, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Paul Walter Hauser, Bebe Rexha, and Vince Vaughn are among the cast members. Under his Red Hour Productions company, Ben Stiller serves as an executive producer. STXfilms is planning to release it on September 10, 2021.
Currently, stories about undervalued housewives reclaiming their power by engaging in criminal activities and revealing their darker inner desires are very popular. In its first season, HBO’s original drama “Big Little Lies,” about a group of wealthy California mothers brought together by a murder, won eight Emmys.
Meanwhile, the NBC drama “Good Girls,” about three suburban moms who become embroiled in a crime ring, aired for four seasons, while the Paramount+ series “Why Women Kill” is in its second season.
Now, Hollywood is cashing in on the trend with the upcoming comedy film “Queenpins,” which is inspired on a true story of one of the most outrageous forgeries in American history. Basically, it’s a twisted story that you’ll want to watch for yourself. Let’s review all we know about “Queenpins.”
A disgruntled suburban housewife and her best friend concoct an illegal coupon-club plan that defrauds firms of millions of dollars while also delivering deals to thousands of other coupon clippers. A hapless loss-prevention officer and a determined U.S. postal inspector are on their tail, both looking to put an end to their illicit activity.
Is Queenpins based on a true story?
Because the film is based on the largest counterfeit coupon scam in US history, it will most likely draw inspiration from the true stories of Robin Ramirez, Amiko Fountain, and Marilyn Johnson, the three genuine women suspected of being the scheme’s ringleaders.
When detectives raided the women’s houses in 2012, they discovered $25 million in counterfeit coupons and decided that at least 40 manufacturers had been duped. However, because “Queenpins” is a fictitious comedy, the tone will most likely be lighter than the events that occurred in real life.
In July 2012, the genuine story at the core of Queenpins was first disclosed. Three ladies were arrested after police in Phoenix, Arizona, confiscated more than $25 million in counterfeit coupons during a raid. The raid also resulted in the seizure of twenty-two assault weapons and twenty-one vehicles, including a forty-foot boat. The game of faking coupons clearly isn’t a joke.
The splendour and the money were the equal of drug cartel-type of stuff, according to a local law enforcement official at the time. That was the kind of cash they had.
While the film focuses on two ladies, the real coupon ring was comprised of three. The gang was led by Robin Ramirez, who was forty at the time, and featured Marilyn Johnson, fifty-four, and Amiko “Amy” Fountain, forty-two.
The true Queenpins counterfeit coupon ring functioned in a manner where customers would buy coupons on eBay and/or be invited or referred to the ring’s own website, savvyshoppersite.com. Buyers would have access to a variety of high-dollar coupons once they arrived.
The group concentrated on manufacturer coupons, which often give a free item or a large discount, according to KTAR News, a Phoenix radio station. These were not the “fifty-cents-off coupons” that one could discover in their mailbox, as one law enforcement official put it. If a retailer refused to accept one of the women’s coupons, they promised a 100 percent refund. Maybe the women would never have been caught if their bargains had been a little worse.
The scam came crumbling down after forty organisations filed fraud accusations, including prominent companies like Proctor & Gamble, Hershey, and PepsiCo. The FBI worked up with local law enforcement to bust the ring after tracking the ring’s beginnings to Phoenix. According to Time magazine, as part of their search for the source, they went undercover and bought coupons.
The money was kept in a succession of twelve different bank accounts by the ring. There was more than $2 million in one account. Ramirez’s activities were eventually tracked back to 2007.
Following the bust, all three women entered guilty pleas. Fountain and Johnson both admitted to one count of counterfeiting. Ramirez admitted to counterfeiting, fraud, and illegally controlling a business.
Ramirez was sentenced to twenty-four months in prison and seven years of probation by a judge. They were also sentenced to pay more than $1.2 million to Proctor & Gamble. The coupon ring, according to authorities, cost firms hundreds of millions of dollars in profit.
But, let’s face it, it’s difficult to feel sorry for the corporations in this case. And it appears that the film’s creators feel the same way. In the trailer for Queenpins, Bell and Howell-characters Baptiste’s are heard criticising structural inequality and comparing themselves to Robin Hood. Naturally, the teaser portrays them later living in luxury and boarding private planes. I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that their formerly lofty intentions will backfire.
Couponing became popular not only as a result of reality television series like TLC’s Extreme Couponing, but also as a result of the economic reality that followed the Great Recession, as noted in the Time article.
And it appears that Queenpins will take a lighthearted look at the inequity that underpins the counterfeit coupon industry. Although no one was prosecuted for purchasing coupons, one can’t help but believe that they are the true losers here. Bye-bye coupons, welcome skyrocketing pricing.
On September 10th, Queenpins will be released in theatres, and on September 30th, it will be accessible to stream on Paramount+.