Employee of the Month (2006)
Zack Bradley (Dane Cook) is a box boy at local warehouse store Super Club, trying to take as little responsibility as possible since his business went bust years ago and he accidentally bankrupted his grandmother. His days are spent hanging out with his work buddies working dad Iqbal (Brian George), maintenance worker Russell (Harland Williams), extremely nearsighted optometrist Lon (Andy Dick) and security guard Semi (Marcello Thedford). But he is instantly smitten with new transfer Amy (Jessica Simpson) and, when rumor gets around that she has a fetish for the Employee of the Month, Zack instantly sets out to up his game at work to impress her. The drawback is his work rival and habitual Employee of the Month Vince Downey (Dax Shepard), who is also taken with Amy and hates Zack with a passion. He and his sidekick Jorge (Efren Ramirez) engage in a month-long battle of wits with Zack and his crew for the coveted award and the chance for either Zack or Vince to woo the lovely Amy.
I know feelings are mixed when it comes to Dane Cook and rightly so. However, while his stand up comedy definitely doesn’t hold up in this day and age, it’s my opinion that he’s a decent actor when given even a half-tolerable script to work with and this film is a good example of that. Cook as the good natured slacker just trying not to disappoint people is relatively charming in this film and Dax Shepard as his rival and the film’s main antagonist is hilarious. I never fail to laugh when these two share the screen. Tim Bagley and Danny Woodburn as the brothers Glen Garry and Glen Ross are also a hilarious combination but I have yet to see a role these two have played that I haven’t found hilarious. Jessica Simpson was actually given some decent character development in the role of Amy, even if she still mostly served as eye candy in the film. Certainly not the greatest workplace comedy ever written but a decent enough entry and still relatively enjoyable after nearly twenty years.
Zack Bradley (Dane Cook) is a box boy at local warehouse store Super Club, trying to take as little responsibility as possible since his business went bust years ago and he accidentally bankrupted his grandmother. His days are spent hanging out with his work buddies working dad Iqbal (Brian George), maintenance worker Russell (Harland Williams), extremely nearsighted optometrist Lon (Andy Dick) and security guard Semi (Marcello Thedford). But he is instantly smitten with new transfer Amy (Jessica Simpson) and, when rumor gets around that she has a fetish for the Employee of the Month, Zack instantly sets out to up his game at work to impress her. The drawback is his work rival and habitual Employee of the Month Vince Downey (Dax Shepard), who is also taken with Amy and hates Zack with a passion. He and his sidekick Jorge (Efren Ramirez) engage in a month-long battle of wits with Zack and his crew for the coveted award and the chance for either Zack or Vince to woo the lovely Amy.
I know feelings are mixed when it comes to Dane Cook and rightly so. However, while his stand up comedy definitely doesn’t hold up in this day and age, it’s my opinion that he’s a decent actor when given even a half-tolerable script to work with and this film is a good example of that. Cook as the good natured slacker just trying not to disappoint people is relatively charming in this film and Dax Shepard as his rival and the film’s main antagonist is hilarious. I never fail to laugh when these two share the screen. Tim Bagley and Danny Woodburn as the brothers Glen Garry and Glen Ross are also a hilarious combination but I have yet to see a role these two have played that I haven’t found hilarious. Jessica Simpson was actually given some decent character development in the role of Amy, even if she still mostly served as eye candy in the film. Certainly not the greatest workplace comedy ever written but a decent enough entry and still relatively enjoyable after nearly twenty years.