AllMovie

A loosely connected group of friends, lovers, and relatives interact in the midst of a brutal heat wave in this independent comedy-drama. Ray (Bob McGrath), a New Yorker in his early 40s, works as a "headhunter," employed to recruit valuable employees from other firms. While Ray has a white collar job, he doesn't take it very seriously and isn't encouraged to; he shows up in a T-shirt and shorts, leaves early to hang out in the park, and gets paid under the counter in cash, preferring to keep his savings in his dresser drawer rather than open a bank account. Ray is newly married to Teresa (Isabel Robayo), a Colombian immigrant who speaks practically no English and makes a living doing phone-sex calls out of the Lower East Side apartment that she and Ray share. Ray's sister Linda (Elizabeth Schofield), a bit younger and more serious than her brother and smarting from recent problems with her marriage, is paying her brother a visit on a vacation from her home in California. During her stay in New York, Linda becomes involved with Harlan (Michael Harris), an addict who introduces her to heroin, his drug of choice, while Teresa, frustrated by her inability to communicate with Ray, begins an affair with Luis (Roberto de la Pena), who is only interested in her money. Ray, on the other hand, has to deal with a mugging and a baffling illness while trying to salvage what's left of his marriage. Shot and edited on Betacam video and later transferred to film, The Headhunter's Sister won honors at the Seattle Film Festival and the Independent Spirit Awards in 1997.