The Promotion (2008)

Why so much hype?

the audience applauded

Admirable film.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The Promotion feels like the crossroads where mainstream comedy meets indie comedy and the result is a bit all over the place. Some of the jokes in The Promotion (IE: "black apples" and the foreigner who gets violent over a box of Teddy Grahams) seem geared more for mainstream comedy films, while the observations the film makes about male masculinity along with the nine-to-five hell of the workplace make the film a more low-key comedy with abrupt situational humor.A strange hybrid this is, placing two talented actors at its core - the inherently likable Seann William Scott and the exuberant character actor John C. Reilly. Scott plays Doug Stauber, the assistant manager at Donaldson's, a supermarket chain based in Chicago. Day in and day out, Doug has to deal with poor and often abhorrent cards left in the parking lot dropbox for shoppers to state their shopping experience, a gang of loitering black teenagers in the parking lot, and just the drudgery of working for a little bit above minimum wage.Doug feels this is about to change, as he presumes he's a dead lock for the manager position at a new Donaldson's, which is opening very soon. Yet, there's another man eyeing the position, as well, named Richard Wehlner (John C. Reilly), an unusually nice man who has just moved from Quebec with a squeaky-clean record that just may grant him the desired position. For now, though, he works alongside Doug as assistant manager at the current Donaldson's.Just from that premise alone, I got anxious with The Promotion. I love films set in supermarkets, big-box stores, malls, or some other consumption-driven place. They often allow for humor more observant on human behavior to take place rather than your usual band of gags and can usually be levied by the thrills and unexpected happenings of a common setting. I was also hoping that The Promotion would rely quite a bit on humor driven by Donaldson's eclectic bunch of customers, similar to Kevin Smith's Clerks, a film I wouldn't hesitate to call one of my favorite comedy films.The Promotion doesn't get too heavy with the blatant or observant comedy, however, and instead tries to provide a face and maybe some relatable instances to the dead-end job of a grocery store. The issue is that The Promotion doesn't have a real identity here. Sometimes it wants to be satirical (when it's showing Doug do all the jobs at the store), sometimes it desires to be observant (when Doug is reading the customer feedback cards), sometimes it wants to be flat-out hilarious and fish for laughs (returning to the "black apples" example along with the team-building activities the employees at Donaldson's take part in), and, at others, it wants to show the male mindset of wanting to advance and strive higher in the workplace (Doug's mentality throughout).With all this on its mind, and a mere eighty-one minute runtime, The Promotion doesn't get a lot of this accomplished but shows us this is what it wants to do in the long run. What I can admire, however, is that everything it wants to do is fairly interesting and that the film itself finds ways to take dryer subjects and ideas and make them funny or at least watchable. The blatant comedy actually works more often than not, and the ideas it throws in about male masculinity and striving for the top position work, even if they're only given a surface explanation and depiction in the film.Scott and Reilly also nicely and subtly personify the conflict between younger, more adaptable blood and older, more traditionalist blood. Doug is a younger soul who could easily adapt to the technological innovations of the workplace, as well as pressure coming from multiple different angles. We get the feeling Richard can, at times, but we feel he would do it in a rougher, more over-the-top way (given what we see when he tires to build a ship-in-a-bottle). Not to mention, Richard seems sloppier and more of a roly-poly than Doug, and to add to that, even in his Sunday best Richard still seems a bit unkempt. With this in mind, the film details this kind of present generation gap that is hardly detailed or spoken about in society.The film has one core insight that I adore so much I may use it on a regular basis. The piece of wisdom comes from Richard who tells Doug, "we're all just here trying to get some food. Sometimes we bump into each other." This is a beautiful insight, almost as intriguing as Clerks' piece of insight about clerks ("just because they serve you doesn't mean they like you"). The quote basically sums up that we're all just looking for one simple goal and have one simple task, but sometimes we collide with someone who makes us a better person, gives us close companionship, or has absolutely no effect on us.The Promotion, in short, is kind of a damning movie. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's dry. Sometimes it's observant, sometimes it's passive. Sometimes it wants to focus on its characters' masculinity, sometimes it just wants to have awkward silences. Very often it feels like a teenager who occasionally wants to be insightful and sometimes just wants to be lazy.Starring: Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly. Directed by: Steven Conrad.

I can't believe this movie is under comedy, at no point through this movie did I laugh. It was dull, boring and soooo dragged out. My husband wanted us to turn it off half an hour into the movie but I said no thinking it would pick up, so I waited and I waited and then I waited some more...nothing happened, this movie is a drama and not a good one. I love movies with Sean in them but I have to give this a big big thumb's down. I think the people who have given this a good review most have been either watching the wrong movie or high when watching it. Don't wait 90 mins of your life! You have been warned .................................................................

Slow.......................Slow............ the film is very slow....... I love these sort of films usually, easy watching comedies. But I found myself forwarding through it as its so boring, I have not seen the whole film yet, but quite frankly, not overly bothered...hence writing this whilst it is on in the background! Whilst watching I noticed a fly on the ceiling, I actually found it more entertaining! Need I say no more! Such a shame as both lead actors in previous films they have starred in are great!! Right.... time to watch/fast forward through the rest of the film, I have sat through an hour of it, might swell see the rest! humph....

Many people saying this movie is "uninspired" or "boring" do not understand the type this type of comedy. The reason the characters do not have energy is because they are not supposed to! It is the type of comedy that pokes fun at real life situations. It is meant to bring out the comedy in day to day life. I felt like this was really obvious, but I guess not.It is great to see a movie that is funny, and does not have to use obscene material to accomplish this. Many comedies now days think if they fill it with curse words, and nudity it makes it funny. I appreciate a comedy that can be funny without having to do this. If you find Seinfeld funny, I would highly recommend this movie.