Employee of the Month Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)October 6th, 2006
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): **
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH is a harmless enough comedy that does provide some smiles, even if no laughs. Set in a Costco that has been renamed Super Club to protect the innocent, it concerns the rivalry between two employees for Employee of the Month.
The front runner is Vince (Dax Shepard), a seventeen time winner who will win a car and enter the company's hall of fame if he sets a record by winning eighteen times in a row. He is super confident of succeeding in his quest since he is officially the "fastest cashier in the Southwest." His rock star-like status means that he attracts local groupies who come every day to ooh and aah over his juggling and gymnastics as he runs items through his scanner.
An unlikely candidate enters the contest -- a box boy named Zack (Dane Cook). Usually the company's biggest slacker, Zack wants to change his ways when hears that Amy (Jessica Simpson), the new cashier, has the hots for guys who win the Employee of Month trophy. Zack is a likeable loser who lives with his grandmother. She went bankrupt investing in Zack's dotcom. Do I need to tell you now that an awkward subplot towards the end will try to turn the movie briefly sappy?
Did I mention yet that the month in question is November? Since it has an even number of days, you can probably guess what the daily gold star count will be by the month's end and what will occur next.
But, the problem with EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH isn't with its predictability or with the chemistry of its cast, which is reasonably decent. The movie's downfall is that it just isn't funny enough. It doesn't take a lot to make me laugh, but EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH never got over my easy threshold of humor.
I liked the cast and their good spirited frivolity. But I need more to be able to recommend their movie.
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH runs too long at 1:43. It is rated PG-13 for "crude and sexual humor, and language" and would be acceptable for kids around 10 and up.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, October 6, 2006. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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