Customer Reviews

The Promotion

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Doug Stauber (Seann William Scott) and Richard Wehlner (John C. Reilly) find themselves competing for the same managerial position. Where most films would have one clearly likable character pitted against another nefarious one, this work takes no such short-cut. Herein resides the beauty of this piece. The Promotion is as much a drama as it is a comedy.

Just a short caveat: This is not your typical comedy, so the exposition may throw you off. Nonetheless, after the first ten minutes the film's playfulness begins to peek through ... and by the twenty-minute mark, the viewer is thoroughly engrossed. So, just let go of all assumptions and let Conrad (the director) guide your feelings.

At times, this piece is genuinely hysterical: the comment-cards, the shopping-cart gag, the parking-lot gangs ... all funny. At other times, it's deliberately uncomfortable: both men need this advancement, both men have families, both have our sympathies. The moments of tension are fairly intense. The betrayals are almost heart-crushing. But even in its darkest moments (there are a few), the viewer never wants to abandon the film. Its complexity is what makes this work so appealing!

Hey, I knew it was a great film when I heard Public Image Limited on the soundtrack (just had to say that). But it is the small details that add a touch of reality: the well-intended but entirely annoying neighbors (who play the banjo), the myopic supervisor (who thinks every minor infraction will bring-about the apocalypse), the sticker name-tags worn at company-retreats (though everyone knows each others' names), and the bizarre mantra that the customer is always right (even if they concuss you with a Yoo-Hoo bottle). No matter what your position in life, no matter what your career, you should find some slice of yourself here.

This is a very clever, surprisingly nuanced, and entirely relatable work. It was both strangely touching (Riley dancing in the vacant store was surprisingly painful) and yet comedic (the Teddy Grahams stalker seemed to turn into a demented "Where's Waldo"). Can you ask for more?

If you want to see Seann William Scott in a more mature, more challenging role, this film may be a good choice. (Who knew he had it in him??!!) I hope more of these complex roles come his way!

The closest film to which I can compare Conrad's The Promotion is Forster's Stranger Than Fiction. Though there isn't much one can call "existential" in this piece, there is a similar emotional dynamic. So, if you've ridden that particular roller-coaster and found it gratifying, you may enjoy this one.

P.S. This film made me reexamine my approach to comment-cards. It think I'm going to start peppering-in some expletives ... just for fun ... but only on the positive ones!!

Wow! It has been a LONG time since I have seen such a clever, touching, absolutely hilarious movie! Bravo to Seann William Scott. I didn't know he had it in him. John C. Reilly, as usual, does not disappoint. My first introduction to him came with "Boogie Nights," and everytime I've seen him since I have been in awe of him. This movie is more than worth it!!!!

With the likes of Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly leading the way ones initial response is this is going to be a great "guy film" filled with crazy, insane behavior and lots of scantily clad young ladies. If that's the evening you had in mind this is not the movie for you. The '08 film `The Promotion' is a rather wistful, slow moving story of the innate desire to succeed in the workplace yet remain true to who you are and what you want to believe about yourself. In other words it posits the question "Can you retain your self-respect and dignity while striving for upward mobility and financial security?"

Watching this rather unexpectedly low key film I found it somewhat disconcerting at times. Previously conditioned by other films I've seen with Scott and Riley I found myself anticipating something hilarious to occur and it simply never happens. When I finally came to the realization that this was to be something totally different for these two and attuned myself with the pace and theme as presented I discovered it was actually quite good though subdued. I guess that's my way of giving `The Promotion' a tentative approval.

Don't bother to invite the guys over for this one, save it for a quiet evening at home with the wife.

Seann William Scott is excellent in this movie. John C Reilly & Jenna Fischer are underused. Also Lili Taylor's Scottish accent, is one of the worst I have ever heard!! ON an overall opinion though, the movie is a nice tale about one man's efforts to better himself, not only for himself, but for the sake of his family. Scott's on sccreen chemistry with Reilly, really makes this movie work.

I saw this piece at the Jacksonville Film Festival. I enjoyed the film, I thought it was cleverly written and before I noticed the review on the website, I thought they used the F-word very well. Then I went on their site and noticed the previews mentioned the same opinion, anyways, Seann William Scott is definitely not type cast and John C. Riley is an extremely talented focus actor. I enjoyed watching this in the theater and I will be renting it tonight!


thanks,
Nic Christie

A lot of familiar faces keep popping up in the course of "The Promotion," a charming indie comedy set in the outskirts of Chicago.

The ever-endearing Seann William Scott (Stifler from the "American Pie" series) plays Doug Stauber, an assistant manager at a grocery store who's having trouble controlling not only his own subordinates but the obnoxious gang members who seem to have taken up residence in the parking lot and spend their time harassing the shoppers. When Doug learns that a new franchise is opening soon in the area, he's assured by his current boss that he's a "shoo-in" for the position of manager there - until, that is, Richard Wehlner, a native of Canada, moves to town and becomes Doug's key rival for the spot.

Given the premise, "The Promotion" could easily have devolved into one of those broad, lowest-common-denominator farces, filled with obvious sight-gags and over-the-top slapstick. Instead, thanks to a restrained script and subtle direction by Steven Conrad, the movie becomes a genial and gently amusing tale of two equally likable people who are just trying to move ahead a little in the tightly circumscribed world in which they live. Doug and Richard aren't asking for fame and fortune, just a little recognition that they're doing a good job with the resources that have been handed to them. That they are forced to tear one another down in order to achieve that recognition is what gives the movie its poignancy and soul. The movie, thus, becomes that rare tale about competition and rivalry where no one is a villain.

In addition to the wonderful lead actors, the cast includes Fred Armisen ("SNL"), Jenna Fischer ("The Office"), Lili Taylor ("Six Feet Under") and Jason Bateman ("Arrested Development").

Give this one a chance; it will grow on you.

I read a lot of mixed reviews on this movie before I bought it...Some good and some bad and some in the middle...I decided to buy it anyways because im a fan of the actors in it...I think that it is a really good movie but it is a different kind of comedy...It's not one of those movies that is constantly trying to bust out the "HAHA" every five seconds...I liked it and would recommend it to anyone who wants a good laugh...

I would not consider this movie to be thought provoking. It's a good movie to watch when you have had a hard day at work or you just want to be entertained.

I am usually a fan of these little films that pop up from nowhere, but 'The Promotion' while mildly entertaining, lacks the insight and interest level of many films of this nature. it's not a bad film, but I expected more from it. It just kind of sits there and that's never a good thing. It's worth a look for viewers who like small films, but I wouldn't buy this one!

I guess I was expecting a different kind of movie. With Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly who have done some outrageous movies, I guess I was expecting something else. It reminded me of when I went to see Punch Drunk Love and I couldn't decide if it was a drama, or just a bad comedy. I think in a film like this, it needs to be a black comedy to work. Everything is just too mellow as the two men compete for the job of manager of a new supermarket. Things really would have been better going the way of "War of the Roses". Maybe it is just me. This film seems to be getting decent reviews here on Amazon.