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This was an enjoyable film. My big problem is that it is a standard formula film that I have seen a dozen times over. They really added nothing new to the equation. You have a likeable slacker who lives with his grandmother and works a nowhere job for a Sam's Club type company. You have a mean nemisis who is the head cashier. Enter a new employee, a drop dead gorgeous girl and the slacker takes it on himself to win her over by being a good employee and become employee of the month. He then has to battle the mean nemisis with a bunch of gags with his group of strange friends. Then at the end, he has a misunderstanding with the girl when some of his lies and deeds come out. But in the end he redeems himself and all is good. Cook is good in the role. I would have like to see him ad lib some more and make the movie more his own. Simpson is okay, her big contribution to the movie is various low cut tops. Dax I thought was great with his Pedro like boxer. A fair budget and decent acting save this one. I would rent it first rather than making a blind buy.

I can't believe I'm saying this but I must. I enjoyed watching `Employee of the Month' starring Dane Cook and the infamous Jessica Simpson in this light-hearted comedy/romance about finding love and selling in bulk. I didn't intend to watch this film because I thought it was going to be yet another vehicle for Miss Simpson to giggle and jiggle her way to the top of the Hollywood food chain. However I was eventually swayed at my daughters insistance and agreed to a viewing.

It definitely was not what I expected. Dane Cook was quite enjoyable in the part of Zack, box boy at the local Super-Club mega store and Jessica Simpson played it straight and somewhat subdued in her role as Amy, the stores new cashier.

Obviously there's nothing deep or profound here, just good, clean fun that the whole family can enjoy. Watch and see who's the greatest cashier of them all!

So now add EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH to the ongoing list of slacker movies. No, it's no CLERKS or OFFICE SPACE, but, nevertheless, I found it quite charming and certainly convivial enough to give it three stars. The acting efforts of stand-up comic Dane Cook and Groundlings alum and Cook's movie nemesis Dax Shepard propel the movie and give it its comedic gusto. The rest of the cast, including some so-called professional funnymen, vary from congenially effective to tepid.

Most of us can relate, at some point or another, to people suffering the woes and aggravations of wasting away in a dead end job. We've all felt that overriding sense of boredom and career unfulfillment. Imagine toiling away at a Costco-like superstore as the lowest of the low, the much lamented position of Box Boy. Dane Cook plays Zack Bradley, a likable, laid back box boy at the Super Club ("where buying in bulk is our God-given right") who was quite content to let the glory go to cocky, super go-getter Vince Downey (Dax Shepard), the "fastest cashier in the Southwest Region." That is, until he falls for new cashier girl Amy Renfrew (Jessica Simpson). Her personal file indicates Amy will only date employees of the month. So Zack decides to be that employee of the month but then has to contend with chief rival Vince, who has held that position for 17 months running. And if Vince gets it for the 18th time, he'll break the Super Club record and will win the grand prize of a brand newish 2005 Chevy Malibu. Will Zack be able to summon some reserve of ambition and achieve this oh-so-lofty goal? Will Dax Shepard steal the movie away from Dane Cook? Will Jessica Simpson ever get past acting on a vapid level?

Every now and then, I feel like veering away from Oscar caliber type movies and getting down and dirty, cinema-wise (and, no, I don't mean those kinds of movies). I'm probably gonna go check out THE DEPARTED in the following weeks, but, tonight, I was in the mood for some crude, unPC shtick. I mean, what do you expect from this B-level cast and from Dane Cook? Rated PG Bill Cosby stylings? C'mon, now. This is pretty much the low-brow stuff that I thought the movie was gonna have, and I'm pretty content after having seen it. It contained enough chuckle-and-laugh-out-loud-worthy moments and enough shots of the nicely-endowed, scantily-clad Jessica Simpson that I didn't feel I wasted my money. Folks wandering into the theatre in search of Shakespearean styles of thespianism are in the wrong freakin' place. EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH is fully a frat movie, its core audience predominantly composed of juveniles and juveniles-at-heart. It does strive to be sweet at times and even attempts to drive home a message late in the flick (which I actually think proved to be more of a detriment to the film).

There are some things that the movie missed out on. Casting, for example. Amy Smart would've been perfect for this role (although, she's perfect in any role) and would've done so much more with Amy Renfrew than Jessica Simpson did here. The word is still out on whether Simpson can act, but there's no doubting that she looks fine. Come to think of it, Ryan Reynolds probably would've also improved on the Zach Bradley role. And I've never been an Andy Dick fan. Guy is too out there and, worst of all, is NOT funny. The film also suffers from not taking enough chances (you could sense Dane Cook biting his tongue in many of the scenes), and the ending was definitely too smaltzy. The humor is also not mined enough in Andy Dick's blind-as-a-bat character, who toils away in the eye-care department. Same goes for the character of Gary Ross, the domineering dwarf.

But, fear not, this comedy flick does offer some nice touches. I liked the idea of a secret hangout located on top of one of the towering, warehouse-like piles of store stock supplies, the concept of the store manager (named Glen Gary) being afraid of his big brother (named, Glen Ross, who turns out to be an imperious dwarf), and Efren Ramirez as Vince's sycophant lackey. Dane Cook, while not Ryan Reynolds, still is very serviceable in the lead role and you almost buy into his 180 degree redemption from a deadbeat to a responsible citizen. And Jessica Simpson does look VERY hot. And, with respect to the other actors, Dax Shepard is truly the one to watch in this film. The combination of arrogance and insecurity he instills within his role makes Vince Downey the most well-rounded character in the movie.

So, kudos to Dax Shepard, Dane Cook, Harland Williams, Efren Ramirez, and - fine! - kudos also to Jessica Simpson. Slackers of the World, unite. Go down some suds, scarf a steak sandwich, and get yourself to the nearest cinema and revel in the low-rent but funny experience that is EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad
This movie wasn't bad. It had its funny parts. But some parts seem a little stupid. I think Jessica Simpson did a good job with her acting. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Sugga40827

3.0 out of 5 stars all right
Anyone who has worked in a store can appreciate some of the jokes in here, and it is by no means a dreadful film, but it also fails to be a truly great one. Read more

Published 4 months ago by M

5.0 out of 5 stars Cheap but funny
This is one of those comedies that is great to watch anytime. It has that cheap but good feel to it, nothing that would ever win any awards but still great enough to enjoy over... Read more

Published 6 months ago by Trippster

4.0 out of 5 stars She Makes Nice Shoes Though
What can you say about a movie with meager ambitions, not unlike the main character played by Dane Cook, and for all intents and purposes succeeds? Read more

Published 10 months ago by David Baldwin

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie
This movie is awesome. I know a lot of people are turned off from it cause they hate Jessica Simpson, but even she did a good job (not that her character took super acting skills... Read more

Published 13 months ago by Kristina

1.0 out of 5 stars Just Trash and nothing but trash
No thought went into the making of this loser of a DVD. The acting was unacceptable and it looks as if there was an effort to not cut the film at all but use every foot of film... Read more

Published 15 months ago by Science Minded

3.0 out of 5 stars Just 3
I rated it 3 stars because that's how many good songs were on this cd. I know they were going with the whole AC/DC theme. But, I liked the REAL soundtrack in the movie.

Published 19 months ago by Holly thornton

5.0 out of 5 stars Attention all shoppers...!
I just had to write a little review for this movie after I saw that it is only averaging a 3-star rating. What's up with that? This is a great comedy and one of my favorites. Read more

Published 20 months ago by Rock N Rolla

5.0 out of 5 stars Employee of the Month
At first i didn't think very much about the plot, but i hoped that it wasn't waste of time. When i started watching it, i just started laughing non-stop!

Published 21 months ago by KAM

5.0 out of 5 stars I wasn't expecting much...
I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. I laughed at several witty lines, especially one where Zach corrected Vince's grammar, but Vince didn't get it. Read more

Published 21 months ago by Allen

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