Promotion, The

USA 2008, 85 minutes
Dir. Steven Conrad
Rating: [M]
Genres: Comedy, Drama / Black Comedy

Topics: Satire.

Feat. Seann William Scott, John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Lili Taylor

Aroview: A meek assistant manager's dreams of managing his very own supermarket are in doubt when a Canadian nice-guy transfers to the store. Superficially buddies, the pair drift into dire straits and wage a war of one-upmanship, both vying for the coveted Promotion.

The film channels some of the charm of OFFICE SPACE, milking anxious wage-slave lassitude for its comedy. John C. Reilly just manages to shine, wide-eyed and trying to walk the straight & narrow, and it is the voiceover provided by his self-help cassette that works best to string a soggy script together. Still, it's liable to elicit a few laffs from overwrought 9-to-5ers (or 9-day-fortnighters).