Brandon Daley's acidic comedy $Positions has been compared to the Safdie brothers Uncut Gems with the two sharing a level of anxiety-inducing symbiosis as they follow characters who embark on a voyage of self-sabotage and destruction thanks to the allure of gambling and cryptocurrency. But for my sensibility, $Positions has more of an affinity with the work of comedian Tom Green.
It's not just because lead actor Michael Kunicki looks like Green himself, but it's in the manner that Daley injects 90s-era style comedy into the film, replete with scenes featuring dual-peeing penises, absurd violence, and chaotic house parties.
Kunicki's Mike lives in the Mid-West of America, working through his existence in a flyover state, supporting his special needs brother Vinny (Vinny Kress) in the process. Mike's diligent at work, but it's not enough to keep him afloat as medical bills, support fees for Vinny, and more keep piling up. The allure of cryptocurrency and all the quick gain promises it provides is intoxicating for Mike, and in $Positions opening moments we see his cryptowallet go from hundreds of dollars up to tens of thousands of dollars.
Its fluctuation guides your heart rate spikes throughout the film, as Mike sees some kind of wealthy future for him and his family, all the while he makes rash, unwise decisions in an attempt to chase an ever more unattainable goal of digital wealth.
The strength of $Positions is in the way Daley refuses to laugh at Mike, his friends or family, all of whom are simply looking to make the best of the life they have. This is modern America. This is Trump's America. This is an America where cryptocurrency promises a quick train to being rich. And the people living in that America are just trying to get by.
If we throw back to the early nineties for a moment, we might have called these characters or folks 'slackers', and that's a term that I use in this interview with Brandon as we unpack the film and its comedic stylings. It's a term which he pushes back against when describing the characters in $Positions, a point which leads the conversation to explore everything from something as aspirational as hope to what the modern 'American Dream™' looks like, to the joys of seeing dicks on screen.
$Positions has the makings of a cult classic. Nerve shredding at times, before hollowing you out with giddy laughter at others. It screens at Revelation Perth International Film Festival on 13 & 14 July 2026. Tickets are available via RevelationFilmFest.org:
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