The Promotion (2008)

This is a film that leaves you with no solid answers. It is basically a competition between to flawed men to become the next supermarket manager.

Being one of those off-the-beaten pass comedies that are usually so distained by Americans that they only live in small art theaters, then if they’re any good have a cult following; meaning they have a small audience. This is usually the guy or girl listening to The Shins on the ipod who knows more about movies than his or her current job.

The Promotion is no exception. It is really slow, which can be good for a indie movie, but it is also saturated with subtle humor and wisdom.

The movie stars Stifler (Seann William Scott) from American Pie and big lovable loser John C. Reilly. Not be forgotten the ultimate nice-girl in film/TV Jenna Fischer.

What is striking about this movie is how realistic this story could be. You have Stifler who playing a not so ambitious guy who is trying to work his way up in his job that he took in high school in a supermarket. At age 33 this will be his first big promotion. He is an assistant manager who is looking to become a manager of a new store. The conflict comes in when Richard (Reilly) comes in from Canada to also compete for the same job. Both men are presented as very flawed, but not too flawed. They start to sabotage each other as they go into the interview process and each have a lot to loss if they don’t get this job; such as their homes and wives. They start to crack under the pressure, and it comes down to who will be more broken.

Now this isn’t some Hollywood movie where you watch a bunch of crazy funny scenarios a la some screw ball comedy of the 80’s. Instead, people just seem as petty as in real life.

In a way, this is not a good film to see if your motivation when seeing movies is to escape, because it can really feel like someone’s work. This seems to be the trend these days and Jenna Fischer, from the Office TV show, presence is no coincidence.

Overall, I liked The Promotion, because it left me something to think about after the movie was over. It also left me a little stressed.

Almost forgot, this is yet another movie where Jason Bateman has a small part.