Search - Employee of the Month on DVD

Fairly Funny Movie

Chrissy K. McVay | North Carolina | 01/26/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I don't know if you'd want to add this to your permanent comedy shelf, but it is a fairly funny movie. I found some memorable characters and could certainly laugh at the way a few of the employees took their 'low level' jobs so seriously, as if training for the Olympics. There were also some very revealing truths to the working class that helped raise the amusement level. Worth watching at least once.

Chrissy K. McVay - Author"

"This is an '81 Honda! How dare you!"

H. Bala | Carson - hey, we have an IKEA store! - CA USA | 10/09/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"So now add EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH to the ongoing list of slacker movies. No, it's no CLERKS or OFFICE SPACE, but, nevertheless, I found it quite charming and certainly convivial enough to give it three stars. The acting efforts of stand-up comic Dane Cook and Groundlings alum and Cook's movie nemesis Dax Shepard propel the movie and give it its comedic gusto. The rest of the cast, including some so-called professional funnymen, vary from congenially effective to tepid.

Most of us can relate, at some point or another, to people suffering the woes and aggravations of wasting away in a dead end job. We've all felt that overriding sense of boredom and career unfulfillment. Imagine toiling away at a Costco-like superstore as the lowest of the low, the much lamented position of Box Boy. Dane Cook plays Zack Bradley, a likable, laid back box boy at the Super Club ("where buying in bulk is our God-given right") who was quite content to let the glory go to cocky, super go-getter Vince Downey (Dax Shepard), the "fastest cashier in the Southwest Region." That is, until he falls for new cashier girl Amy Renfrew (Jessica Simpson). Her personal file indicates Amy will only date employees of the month. So Zack decides to be that employee of the month but then has to contend with chief rival Vince, who has held that position for 17 months running. And if Vince gets it for the 18th time, he'll break the Super Club record and will win the grand prize of a brand newish 2005 Chevy Malibu. Will Zack be able to summon some reserve of ambition and achieve this oh-so-lofty goal? Will Dax Shepard steal the movie away from Dane Cook? Will Jessica Simpson ever get past acting on a vapid level?

Every now and then, I feel like veering away from Oscar caliber type movies and getting down and dirty, cinema-wise (and, no, I don't mean those kinds of movies). I'm probably gonna go check out THE DEPARTED in the following weeks, but, tonight, I was in the mood for some crude, unPC shtick. I mean, what do you expect from this B-level cast and from Dane Cook? Rated PG Bill Cosby stylings? C'mon, now. This is pretty much the low-brow stuff that I thought the movie was gonna have, and I'm pretty content after having seen it. It contained enough chuckle-and-laugh-out-loud-worthy moments and enough shots of the nicely-endowed, scantily-clad Jessica Simpson that I didn't feel I wasted my money. Folks wandering into the theatre in search of Shakespearean styles of thespianism are in the wrong freakin' place. EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH is fully a frat movie, its core audience predominantly composed of juveniles and juveniles-at-heart. It does strive to be sweet at times and even attempts to drive home a message late in the flick (which I actually think proved to be more of a detriment to the film).

There are some things that the movie missed out on. Casting, for example. Amy Smart would've been perfect for this role (although, she's perfect in any role) and would've done so much more with Amy Renfrew than Jessica Simpson did here. The word is still out on whether Simpson can act, but there's no doubting that she looks fine. Come to think of it, Ryan Reynolds probably would've also improved on the Zach Bradley role. And I've never been an Andy Dick fan. Guy is too out there and, worst of all, is NOT funny. The film also suffers from not taking enough chances (you could sense Dane Cook biting his tongue in many of the scenes), and the ending was definitely too smaltzy. The humor is also not mined enough in Andy Dick's blind-as-a-bat character, who toils away in the eye-care department. Same goes for the character of Gary Ross, the domineering dwarf.

But, fear not, this comedy flick does offer some nice touches. I liked the idea of a secret hangout located on top of one of the towering, warehouse-like piles of store stock supplies, the concept of the store manager (named Glen Gary) being afraid of his big brother (named, Glen Ross, who turns out to be an imperious dwarf), and Efren Ramirez as Vince's sycophant lackey. Dane Cook, while not Ryan Reynolds, still is very serviceable in the lead role and you almost buy into his 180 degree redemption from a deadbeat to a responsible citizen. And Jessica Simpson does look VERY hot. And, with respect to the other actors, Dax Shepard is truly the one to watch in this film. The combination of arrogance and insecurity he instills within his role makes Vince Downey the most well-rounded character in the movie.

So, kudos to Dax Shepard, Dane Cook, Harland Williams, Efren Ramirez, and - fine! - kudos also to Jessica Simpson. Slackers of the World, unite. Go down some suds, scarf a steak sandwich, and get yourself to the nearest cinema and revel in the low-rent but funny experience that is EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH.
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