I really, really liked this movie.
If someone asked me to list my top twenty movies, it's very unlikely that a comedy would ever grace that list but there's a possibility that "The Promotion" might appear from now on. The strange fact is that it's the characters and the story of "The Promotion" which endeared the movie to me rather than the humour.
That's not to say that "The Promotion" isn't funny because it is. It may not be laugh-out-loud funny but it's filled with enough strange little moments (a scene of one employee at the supermarket shaving in the middle of the aisle for example) to raise a few smiles.
Of the two main characters, Sean William Scott is the one whom the audience is drawn towards. Scott is possibly at his best in "The Promotion" where, for once, he's not required to channel Stiffler from "American Pie". Instead he plays a well-mannered loser whose only ambition is to become the manager of a new supermarket so he can finally afford a new house for himself and his wife. His competition for the position is played by the always reliable John C Reilly and it's nice that Reilly's character isn't presented as the bad guy but just a normal man with his own aspirations and dreams. Although it's a story of oneupmanship, it doesn't fall back on the broadly stupid ways other movies might have presented their conflict.
If you're a fan of Wes Anderson movies ("Rushmore", "The Royal Tenenbaums") then it's quite likely you'll find something to love here. The same is also true if you enjoyed "The Weather Man" (also written by Steve Conrad) or "Juno" (Jason Bateman from that movie appears here in a brief cameo incidentally).
Beneath the humour, i liked the message of "The Promotion" and the way in which it told that message. It's a study on human beings ("We're all just out here trying to get some food... sometimes we bump into each other" Reilly's character explains at one point) and, more specifically, on what it's like to be a man in the modern world.
It may have some problems here or there (the Scottish accent used by Reilly's wife is terrible for example) but it has a big heart and is incredibly entertaining. It also has an uplifting ending in which a long-running joke is finally paid off, which made me clap my hands and smile.
Strongly recommended.
If someone asked me to list my top twenty movies, it's very unlikely that a comedy would ever grace that list but there's a possibility that "The Promotion" might appear from now on. The strange fact is that it's the characters and the story of "The Promotion" which endeared the movie to me rather than the humour.
That's not to say that "The Promotion" isn't funny because it is. It may not be laugh-out-loud funny but it's filled with enough strange little moments (a scene of one employee at the supermarket shaving in the middle of the aisle for example) to raise a few smiles.
Of the two main characters, Sean William Scott is the one whom the audience is drawn towards. Scott is possibly at his best in "The Promotion" where, for once, he's not required to channel Stiffler from "American Pie". Instead he plays a well-mannered loser whose only ambition is to become the manager of a new supermarket so he can finally afford a new house for himself and his wife. His competition for the position is played by the always reliable John C Reilly and it's nice that Reilly's character isn't presented as the bad guy but just a normal man with his own aspirations and dreams. Although it's a story of oneupmanship, it doesn't fall back on the broadly stupid ways other movies might have presented their conflict.
If you're a fan of Wes Anderson movies ("Rushmore", "The Royal Tenenbaums") then it's quite likely you'll find something to love here. The same is also true if you enjoyed "The Weather Man" (also written by Steve Conrad) or "Juno" (Jason Bateman from that movie appears here in a brief cameo incidentally).
Beneath the humour, i liked the message of "The Promotion" and the way in which it told that message. It's a study on human beings ("We're all just out here trying to get some food... sometimes we bump into each other" Reilly's character explains at one point) and, more specifically, on what it's like to be a man in the modern world.
It may have some problems here or there (the Scottish accent used by Reilly's wife is terrible for example) but it has a big heart and is incredibly entertaining. It also has an uplifting ending in which a long-running joke is finally paid off, which made me clap my hands and smile.
Strongly recommended.