With my new promotion to blogger on CHUD I thought it was
both ironic and fitting that my first film to discuss be The Promotion starring
Sean William Scott and John C. Reilly. The movie was directed by Steve Conrad
whom last brought us The Pursuit of Happyness which he adapted. It seems like
Conrad is stuck because once again we find ourselves watching the good guy
struggling to get ahead. Although this time it’s somewhat of a comedy and by
somewhat I mean I laughed occasionally, but merely giggled the rest of the time.
The storyline is Doug (Sean William Scott) is Assistant Manager at Donaldson, a
supermarket chain, and is trying to become the Head Manager at a new Donaldson
opening up nearby. Doug is a shoe in until Richard (John C. Reilly) shows up
from a sister supermarket and becomes competition for Doug. The only problem is
it never really feels like a competition. Instead we have two guys going for
the same position and throughout the movie you feel like Richard deserves and
needs it more. The Richard character is developed much more then Doug. Richard
is a recovering addict with a wife and child who left their home in
fresh start. On top of all that he is played by the better actor. John C.
Reilly steals the movie. The Doug character has no depth; he is nice guy who
makes some dumb man decisions. BORING! Enough second fiddle already! John C.
Reilly has been the go to man for a strong supporting cast member for years.
Gangs of
Magnolia, Boogie Nights and just when you think he has broken out of it with
something like Dewey Cox he then goes on to play supporting actor to a mediocre
actor in a poorly developed lead character role. I don’t blame him for taking
the part. It’s a strong role and with a meaty story but he should have been the
focus of the movie. Not to mention Sean William Scott doesn’t feel real in the
role. He tries his same witty/sarcastic routine but as a nice guy and it never
really works as well as when he is mean in other movies. If placed in separate
movies with separate storylines John C. Reilly has a funny and touch story
while Sean William Scott has a boring story gone straight to DVD.
The laughs themselves are just not strong enough. I laughed out loud a handful
of times throughout the movie and they involved John C. Reilly every time. He
easily has the funniest moments of the movie including an awkward scene that
goes on for too long and its wonderful to see him put on an acting show. There
were only two or three moments in the movie where the interaction between the
two characters were really funny and they involved a retarded employee and an
awkward giving of 5 between the two. After really allowing the movie to sink in
I realize I wish it was just a movie about John C. Reilly’s character Richard
and his battle with someone else to get a promotion he desperately needs.
Goodbye to Sean William Scott’s amateur and annoying voice over which explained
the story and the pointless scenes between him, his wife, and her boss who
can’t ever remember his name (a joke that died years ago). I say wait for this
one on DVD because you won’t get enough of what you will really want by the end
of the movie, more John C. Reilly.
Next up is Son of Rambow. A must see film about two boys who join together to
enter a young filmmakers competition and make the greatest action movie ever…
The Son of Rambow!! The film stars Bill Milner as William, a young Plymouth Brethrens
who befriends Lee Carter, a troublemaker at his school played by Will Poulter.
William through Lee is exposed to his first film experience in the form of First
Blood. Together they go on to try and make their short film inspired by
William’s love for John Rambo.
Watching this film I couldn’t help but realize how great movies are. No really
they are. I’m not talking about that crappy movie you caught in a matinee on a
Tuesday afternoon. I’m talking about when you were 10 years old and some movie
was such an experience that it forever altered your life. It’s wonderful that a
movie can remind you of that experience. This is why I write about movies and
this is why you sit here reading about them. It’s a reminder of how powerful
the medium is and I’m not talking about the ability to reach mass amounts of
people but instead the ability to reach one individual changing them forever.
Just like this film it impacts everything, your relationship with family,
friends, and alters your future.
This movie is in the spirit of a long untapped genre. Kids’ movies that mean
more to adults then the kids it was intended for. Yea they will enjoy it and
laugh plenty but the emotional impact on adults is far more powerful. This is a
strong sophomore effort for director Garth Jennings after the popular The
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and more importantly gives him the highly
sought after writer-director title. Go see this film and similar movies of this
genre new and old like the highly recommend classic Stand By Me and even the
recently made but overlooked Bridge to Terabithia.
Stay Tuned for upcoming blogs which will include comparison
review of Hulk and Incredible Hulk. I will also be bringing you a special
overview of M. Night Shyamalan’s films including a review of The Happening,
plus an interesting zombie web series that has potential. Don’t forget to share your opinion on the movies I review.
Jason