Review by Brian Tallerico

Workplace comedies are a dime a dozen. The fact is, for every instant cult classic like Office Space, there are a dozen Mad Moneys. Steve Conrad's directorial debut (his screenwriting credits include The Weather Man and The Pursuit of Happyness) is a confident and clever character study about the commonality of dreams from the boardroom to the bag boy. The action in The Promotion takes place against the backdrop of a Chicago grocery store, but it's about much more than coupons and clean-ups in aisle six. Conrad has taken an unusual setting and made it extremely universal. Most of us can see a little bit of ourselves in Doug and Richard, two men trying their hardest to get ahead and falling into the typically unpredictable traps of life. The Promotion is a little too light on its feet (it could have been funnier or had a little more dramatic heft), but it is remarkably believable and restrained, two things not often said about most workplace comedies.

Seann William Scott plays Doug, an assistant manager of a Donaldson's grocery store, who learns of another store opening in the franchise and is told he's a "shoo-in" for the head job. Doug lives in one of those tiny Chicago apartments where he can hear the people next door through the walls and spends his days clearing gang members out of the store parking lot. He wants more and even dreams of buying a house with his wife (Jenna Fischer). In fact, Doug makes that classic mistake of starting the buying process before he's even got the job. His shoo-in status turns sour when Richard (John C. Reilly), a seemingly perfect management candidate moves down from Canada and wants to steal Doug's dreams. Richard listens to inspirational tapes (with his name hilariously recorded over the "you"s in the motivational speeches) and tries to rebuild a shattered life with his own wife (Lili Taylor). Richard's not the smartest tack in the drawer (a fact that is hilariously represented in a company retreat gone wrong headed by Jason Bateman), but he's that kind of nice guy who often makes enough friends to step over you on his way up the ladder. How far Doug might be willing to go to sabotage a man who arguably deserves to see his dreams fulfilled too is the fascinating subtext of The Promotion. Would you stab a man in the back for a life-changing job even if he might deserve it as much as you?

The Promotion is going to be too slow and too deadpan for many viewers, but in an era when over-the-top comedies like those of Adam Sandler or even Judd Apatow rule the day, it's refreshing to see a film that feels more inspired by Albert Brooks or Alexander Payne. Those brilliant comedy writer/directors find a way to inject a little more dramatic urgency into their work than Conrad does with The Promotion, but his work is of the same deadpan type and shows the potential to eventually be of the same caliber. Conrad makes so many smart decisions as a writer including not making Richard too much of an over-the-top antagonist and treating even the dreams of a grocery store assistant manager with respect. And, as a director, he couldn't have cast the film more wisely. With Southland Tales and now The Promotion, Scott continues to display more screen charisma than we previously though he had, and Reilly is simply always good. A supporting ensemble that includes Fischer, Taylor, Bateman, Fred Armisen, Gil Bellows, and more likable actors helps the entire affair feel even more professional and enjoyable. The Weather Man and The Pursuit of Happyness were two unquestionably flawed films, but it seems like a move in the right direction that this talented writer has promoted himself to director as well.

Rating: THREE BONES

Release Date: June 6th, 2008

Rating: R

Starring: Seann William Scott, John C. Reilly, Gil Bellows, Fred Armisen, Jenna Fischer, Rick Gonzalez, Masi Oka, Jason Bateman, and Lili Taylor

Director: Steve Conrad

Writer: Steve Conrad