Released: October 6, 2006
Director: Greg Coolidge
*****
Let me just say at the outset there is no way Employee of the Month could ever hope to match the ultimate work place movie, Office Space. Here, director Greg Coolidge doesn't much care for the white collar worker as he does for the slacker worker, the mid-twenties Average Joe (or Jane) stuck working in retail with little motivation to change. There are no plots to bilk money out of accounts by the half penny or arguments over Red Line staplers. Employee is much simpler: a fight over a girl.
Vince (Dax Shepard) is on the verge of breaking the consecutive "Employee of the Month" streak in his Super Club store. Seventeen consecutive months without a challenger and, upon number eighteen, he will win a new-ish car. He's already the lead cashier in the club and has a stable of regular customers who enjoy his antics while in the check lane. On the other hand, Zack (Dane Cook) is an unmotivated box boy...until a new employee transfers into the store by the name of Amy (Jessica Simpson, who really isn't that bad of an actress here). Then, to win her affections-see, she generally falls for the Employee of the Month-Zack and Vince compete to curry favor in the store, accumulate gold stars by their names and, ultimately, get the girl.
Okay, know what? So what if Employee of the Month and its cast were maligned by critics when the film first debuted. Who cares the attempts of pulling at our heartstrings in the second half are just a wee bit calculated. And why does it matter the whole endeavor doesn't amount to a hill of beans in the end. It's an uncomplicated story, one without an agenda and designed to entertain...which is something it does in spades. From the homages to other movies (Glen Gary and Glen Ross, brothers, from Glengarry Glenn Ross, for instance) to simple physical comedy (watching Vince twirl, juggle and jump over the conveyor belt to scan items), it's hard to not like what it on screen.
That's even despite the shortcomings in the script. A brotherly feud between the store manager and the district manager is never fully fleshed out. The softball finale and the subsequent firing of an employee is handled with zero grace, seeming like an afterthought or a simple plot device. Zack's grandmother comes off as too "with it" in her humor. Vince has next to no development, while Zack is given a detailed backstory, comparatively speaking. The acting won't win any awards, but it is exactly what the script calls for it to be: realistic. In the end, Employee of the Month is sweet and charming despite its drawbacks.
Originally posted on themovierambler.vox.com | 
