Thursday, September 11, 2008

The Promotion - DVD Review

THE PROMOTION (***) - Starring Seann William Scott, John C. Reilly, Fred Armisen, Jenna Fischer, Gil Bellows, Lili Taylor, Bobby Cavanale, Masi Oka and Jason Bateman.
Written & directed by Steve Conrad.

This movie spoke more to today's economy than just about any other movie out there, which made the humor sting just a little bit more than if it had been about two hotshots trying to get a CEO spot.

This is about two middle-class guys, decent, dorky, vying for a new management position at their grocery store chain. The movie permeates with their economic desperation. If they don't get this promotion, they'll be stuck. Dead-ended. Slyly, they start undercutting each other at work, while pretending to still be friends.

It has this easy Election-type vibe to it, and the laughs aren't hardy, but they earn the smiles, whether pained or frivolous. Fred Armisen (SNL) is just the kind of nerdy, lazy supervisor you wanna slap. The highlight is the cameo from Jason Bateman as a teambuilding coach, but then, he usually is the highlight.

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