The Promotion
Written and Directed by: Steve Conrad
Starring: Seann William Scott, John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Fred Armisen, Lili Taylor, Gil Bellows

Workplace comedies are all the rage right now thanks in large part to the success of The Office, and at first glance, Steve Conrad’s The Promotion might appear to be a logical extension of that trend. The fact that Jenna Fischer is one of the film’s stars only emphasizes the comparison, but the truth about The Promotion is that it’s not simply a straight up comedy. The movie celebrates real-life 9 to 5 folks stuck in menial jobs, and attempts to empathize with their plight. A noble endeavour to be sure, but do we really want to watch a movie about every day folks and their petty squabbles as they try to make ends meet?

Seann William Scott stars as Doug Stauber, an assistant manager at a grocery store eager to climb the corporate ladder. He’s a decent guy just trying to make the best of a crappy situation, but he’s the first in line for a promotion when a new store opens elsewhere in the city. That is, until Richard Welhner (John C. Reilly) moves down from Canada to compete for the same job. The two quickly find themselves at odds with each other as they both try to impress management and gain the upper hand.

All of the marketing for the movie played up the rivalry between Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly, so I was almost expecting something in the vein of Step Brothers. Not something quite as silly, obviously, but it seemed like the focus of the movie was the war between these two guys trying to sabotage each other’s chances for the promotion (which, to me, sounded like a funny concept). Before long, however, you start to realize that the movie is going for something a little bit different.

Richard is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict who is doing his best to support his wife and kid. He ends up falling off the wagon because of the stress. Doug, on the other hand, wants to impress his wife so much that he lies to her and tells her that he got the job before a decision is actually made. Neither of them appear very happy with their lives. Yes, there is some animosity that develops between them, but the movie goes to great lengths to portray them as equals. A lot of the humour gets lost because we just end up feeling sorry for them both.

Along the way, there are still some funny moments including a team building picnic where Richard inadvertently reveals a tattoo on his chest, an awkward fight in the parking lot, and an inappropriate slip of the tongue that leaves Richard appearing racist. The movie seems to really want to embrace both Mike Judge’s Office Space (Doug and Jen also have neighbours that can hear them through the walls), and The Office (plenty of Doug and Richard’s schemes backfire and result in embarrassing situations), but it never quite nails the same feel because all of the characters are so true to life that they’re just plain boring.

I was a big fan of Steve Conrad’s previous script for The Weather Man, directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Nicolas Cage. There is a similar tone here, but the execution is much less effective, partly due to direction and partly due to the acting. The characters in The Weather Man were a lot more fleshed out because both Nicolas Cage and Michael Caine could handle the dramatic elements, whereas John C. Reilly and Seann William Scott are not as adept.

I can’t help but wonder if maybe Seann William Scott was simply miscast. He’s likable enough, but he plays it too straightforward and earnest. I think the movie needed someone more mopey or vindictive (Jason Schwartzman?).

On the positive side, the movie has a great soundtrack, and it looks a lot more stylish than I expected it to. I can respect the fact that it aspires to be something more than just a dumb comedy, but in doing so, it fails finds its groove. The story ultimately doesn’t justify its telling either, because the whole time I was just wondering why they both didn’t try to find better jobs instead of going through all the hassle. I know Conrad was trying to pay tribute to the average working joe, but I think he did a better job of that with The Pursuit of Happyness. If you’re a fan of dry humour, The Promotion is still worth a rental at least, but I’m sad to say that it’s not quite the underrated gem I was expecting. — Sean

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