Review #318 - The Promotion (2008)
THE SCOOP
Director: Steve Conrad
Cast: Seann William Scott, John C. Reilly, Chris Conrad
Plot: Two assistant managers of a corporate grocery store vie for a coveted promotion.
Genre: Comedy
Awards: -
Runtime: 85min
Rating: NC16 for language including sexual references, and some drug use.
TRAILER:
IN RETROSPECT
How do I even start
to describe a film like The
Promotion? Directed by Steve Conrad (writer of The Pursuit Of Happyness) in
his debut feature, The
Promotion is a sleep-inducing, largely unfunny comedy on the ups and downs
of working hard to strive for that promotion that would just make life a hell
lot easier.
The two main
characters, Doug (Seann William Scott) and Richard (John C. Reilly) work for
the same
There is a major
problem with the scripting. It is so uninspired and witless that it will make
viewers cringe. With such a bland script, Scott and the Oscar-nominated Reilly,
who are in my opinion above average actors, can only look back and regret the
day they signedup for the film.
There is a
voice-over narration throughout the film by the character Doug, who in the
first five minutes of the film gives hints that The Promotion is going to be a chore to sit through.
A lousy start to a film is a bad omen. Luckily, there is a slight improvement
in terms of pacing in the second half of the film; there is more urgency to
telling the story, though the acting remains abysmal.
Apart from one
rather funny sequence involving 'black apples', The Promotion fails to live up to the expectations
of a comedy. Why do we even bother to view such a film? What returns do we
gain? Weare neither entertained nor do
we learn anything from it. The
Promotion is simply a letdown and a waste of
time. Stay clear.
GRADE: F (4/10 or 1.5 stars)
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