The Promotion (C or 2/4 stars)
2 assistant managers of a corporate supermarket vie for the same job position in 'The Promotion', written & directed by Steve Conrad. Now that there's a managerial post at a new store location, Doug & Richard (Seann William Scott, John C. Reilly) know that some form(s) of sabotage may be required to undo each other en route to the promotion. But is either of them ruthless enough to do such a thing to one another? This film is ... nice. It's funny, at times. But its undoing is that it's actually too low-key. At 79 minutes, it's a little flick of a thing. And it lacks the necessary energy to make us care one way or another.
Doug is a mild-mannered guy; always trying to do the right thing. And when his boss assures him that he's a shoo-in for the managerial position at a new store, he & his wife (Jenna Fischer) dream of good things to come. This includes moving out of their tiny apartment into a house on the outskirts of Chicago. Enter Richard, the new guy down from Canada. Richard is also a mild-mannered nice guy; though he's recently battled drug addiction, and listens to self-help tapes. He's married to a Scottish woman (Lili Taylor), and has a young child. Though their backgrounds are different, Doug & Richard actually have very similar personalities. They like one another. But they also see each other as a prime threat to the new position. Though the brunt of the plot involves these 2 going head-to-head in a battle of willpower; and while the climax does show which one actually receives the new position ... there's plenty more going on throughout the film's duration.
For example, Doug has to deal with gang members who constantly hang out in the parking lot. And there's a foreign shopper who's constantly beating up on him, as well. Richard gets nailed by the higher-ups for not taking down a prank deli sign that says 'cutting the cheese', because he's apparently never heard of the term before (it's referred to as 'cracking the cheese' in Canada). And he also gets in trouble for talking about masturbation (amid grocery shoppers); but the actual conversation is taken out of context. However, just when Richard looks bad in front of the men (including Gil Bellows) who could be hiring him, Doug then does or says something to completely knock himself out of contention, as well. These situations are what bring the 'funny' to the movie.
But the 'funny' is only a small aspect of this little indie flick. The movie poses some moral lessons: While trying to climb the corporate ladder, it's often most useful to just tell the truth. Sabotage is not the answer. Compromising your principles will not advance you in the business world. And if it does, you knowingly sacrifice your own dignity, etc. Seann William Scott is likeable here, and he's completely different than anything we saw from his Stifler in the American Pie movies. John C. Reilly is stellar, proving that he's very funny when given the chance to play it straight (sans Will Ferrell). The script has its moments. I laughed about 5 or 6 times (heartily, too). But they're the kinds of laughs that you WON'T laugh at if and/or when you ever see this movie again. Too many punch lines fail to generate a necessary energy/verve. What you're left with is a small, bland, uneven and too-restrained movie that just kinda comes and goes. Period.
Doug is a mild-mannered guy; always trying to do the right thing. And when his boss assures him that he's a shoo-in for the managerial position at a new store, he & his wife (Jenna Fischer) dream of good things to come. This includes moving out of their tiny apartment into a house on the outskirts of Chicago. Enter Richard, the new guy down from Canada. Richard is also a mild-mannered nice guy; though he's recently battled drug addiction, and listens to self-help tapes. He's married to a Scottish woman (Lili Taylor), and has a young child. Though their backgrounds are different, Doug & Richard actually have very similar personalities. They like one another. But they also see each other as a prime threat to the new position. Though the brunt of the plot involves these 2 going head-to-head in a battle of willpower; and while the climax does show which one actually receives the new position ... there's plenty more going on throughout the film's duration.
For example, Doug has to deal with gang members who constantly hang out in the parking lot. And there's a foreign shopper who's constantly beating up on him, as well. Richard gets nailed by the higher-ups for not taking down a prank deli sign that says 'cutting the cheese', because he's apparently never heard of the term before (it's referred to as 'cracking the cheese' in Canada). And he also gets in trouble for talking about masturbation (amid grocery shoppers); but the actual conversation is taken out of context. However, just when Richard looks bad in front of the men (including Gil Bellows) who could be hiring him, Doug then does or says something to completely knock himself out of contention, as well. These situations are what bring the 'funny' to the movie.
But the 'funny' is only a small aspect of this little indie flick. The movie poses some moral lessons: While trying to climb the corporate ladder, it's often most useful to just tell the truth. Sabotage is not the answer. Compromising your principles will not advance you in the business world. And if it does, you knowingly sacrifice your own dignity, etc. Seann William Scott is likeable here, and he's completely different than anything we saw from his Stifler in the American Pie movies. John C. Reilly is stellar, proving that he's very funny when given the chance to play it straight (sans Will Ferrell). The script has its moments. I laughed about 5 or 6 times (heartily, too). But they're the kinds of laughs that you WON'T laugh at if and/or when you ever see this movie again. Too many punch lines fail to generate a necessary energy/verve. What you're left with is a small, bland, uneven and too-restrained movie that just kinda comes and goes. Period.