Directed by
Greg Coolidge
Cast:
Dane Cook …. Zack
Jessica Simpson …. Amy
Dax Shepard …. Vince
Efren Ramirez …. Jorge
Andy Dick …. Lon
Tim Bagley …. Glen Gary
Brian George …. Iqbal
Marcello Thedford …. Semi
Danny Woodburn …. Glen Ross
Harland Williams …. Russell
Sean Whalen …. Dirk
Barbara Dodd …. Granny
With his feature film debut, I’m sure Director Greg Coolidge wanted to do for Wal-Mart employees what Clerks did for convenience store workers and what Office Space did for those of us who slave away at a computer all day. Putting together an interesting cast and a so-so script, Coolidge’s Employee of the Month isn’t nearly as bad as it could have been, but isn’t as memorable as it wants to be either. The movie simply ends up one of those formula comedies that’s able to wrap everything up in a bow as the credits roll, without ever challenging you or knocking you out of your seat with a great laugh.
The movie concerns Zack (Dane Cook), a ten year veteran of Super Club, a Wal-Mart-like department store where “buying in bulk is a God given right”. Sleepwalking through his life, Zack simply gets by in his day to day hell by slacking off as much as possible; making life as unpleasant for his nemesis, Vince (Dax Shepard); and hanging out with his friends Lon (Andy Dick), Iqbal (Brian George), and Russell (Harland Williams). Zach’s perfectly happy to be wasting his life like this, but all that changes when he meets Amy (Jessica Simpson), a new transfer to Super Club, who apparently has a thing for “Employees of the Month”.
Easily the best thing about Employee of the Month, Dane Cook seems to be having fun in the film’s lead role. His Zack is easily identifiable as the movie’s slacker everyman, even if the world he lives in tends to gravitate into some fantasy world where you can put your enemy’s car on the shelves and he’s forced to sell it or risk a complaint. Dax Shepard is also pretty decent as the movie’s villain Vince, though there are moments where we are supposed to feel sorry for him at times. But we must remember that deep down he’s a complete slime ball. Paired with Napoleon Dynamite’s Efren Ramirez, the duo are given a couple of clever scenes and make decent antagonists for Cook’s Zack. A particularly funny moment has a freezer door opening as if Vince were running through a dramatic fog as he “saves” a less than enthusiastic who has wandered away from his mother.
Having actually lived through a horrible job like the one depicted, the film’s best moments involve the things Zack and his buddies have to do to stay sane during the day to day struggle of the service industry. A secret lounge cleared out among pallets of merchandise looks eerily familiar to one that was made while my friends and I were trying to avoid managers. It’s too bad the movie has to resort to ridiculous happenings to get a laugh, when it’s moments like the one above that really generate interest.
Also, as gorgeous as she is, Jessica Simpson really isn’t given much more to do than to be eye candy. I guess it’s the same situation as Jennifer Aniston in Office Space, but she was given a little meatier role in Mike Judge’s slacker masterpiece. Simpson is luminous, but does it really matter when Cook’s Zack seems only mildly interested?
Mildly interested is all it seems that we’re able to get for Employee of the Month as well. As moments of inspiration are drowned out by minute after minute of lame humor, the movie just seems to go through the motions instead of really trying to entertain us. In the end, while Zack stops slacking off for Amy’s affections, director Greg Coolidge doesn’t seem to think that we’re good enough to do the same thing.
The Video
The picture on the disc is pretty crisp throughout, with little to no debris in the transfer. The balance is nice and everything is visible the whole way through. The film is presented in Anamorphic Widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1.
The Audio
The soundtrack is also nice, never really getting too loud and keeping a nice balance between score and dialogue. The Audio track is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Commentary, Featurettes, Alternate Opening, Ad-Libs, Trailers
Audio Commentary with Actor Dane Cook and Director Greg Coolidge – This is actually a pretty good commentary track as the director and star keep the conversation going for the entire running of the film. The track is pretty frank, as it wanders into subjects such as pornography and strip clubs, but that just adds to the fun instead of getting annoying.
At Work with Lon – This is a featurette with Andy Dick’s Lon getting into character and messing with various customers.
Alternate Super Club Opening – This is a flashback that goes back ten years before the bulk of this story takes place. It features Zack and Vince getting hired on by a smokin’ hot Eva Longoria.
Ad-Libs – This is a mildly funny, especially the few minutes of Andy Dick and Harland Williams ad-libbing during some of their scenes. It’s about as funny as the rest of the movie.
Dane Cook Wants You! – This is the funniest extra, as we get two of the winners from the Employee of the Month Myspace contest. The two videos shown, one of a guy that has a bag over his head that runs into a shed and another where some friends take a guy’s horn and attach it to his breaks, are pretty hilarious.
Trailers – You get various trailers from Lionsgate, with the best ones being for Crank and The Descent.
THE INSIDE PULSE:
Inoffensive, but unmemorable, Employee of the Month skids by when it could have been great. Wal-Mart’s are places that could be filled with comedy, but you wouldn’t really know it here. Too bad the DVD doesn’t offer much when it comes to extras, either.
