Ok I'll try to explain what I didn't like about the movie:
first of, the pace seemed off. It's almost like the writer had a good solid 40-minute-long material, and then dragged it out to get to feature film length.
Secondly, it seemed to lose the plot; so it starts with guy wants promotion. New guy comes to threaten him cos he wants the same job = tension, suspense.
But then it turns out the other guy does idiotic things, so the tension pretty much dies - as soon as he says "Black apples", you just know he's never getting promoted.
Plus, then the "good guy" needlessly *beep* him when he's down (Pussy sauce?), so you don't even root for him that much anymore (that is if you still did after he overreacted and sprayed the Black kid on the lot). So when Other Guy files a complain (which doesn't weigh much to the rest of the story btw), Good Guy had it coming. At that point, I'm past caring whether any of them will get the promotion. Well except that Doug undoubtedly deserves it more than new guy because he's worked there longer.
Then, 'good guy' realizes he's been a dodo instead of a dogood, ok so that's the message of the film. Except this realization doesn't really change anything to the story, since the reason he gets the job is because the other guy smoked a J.
I personally would have been more satisfied if it had ended with 'good guy' getting the job BECAUSE he spoke favorably of his rival during the interview (proving to the board he's a team player and a decent person), and was made manager with other guy as his assistant manager, instead of the deus ex machina drug test.
- A point in every direction is the same as no point at all.
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Redux006
11 years ago
You use the term good guy a lot, but I think the point of the film was that they were both good guys. Basically the movie was toying with us, little scenes here and there that cause us to flip flop our allegiance. Reilly talking about his missionary work and wanting to high five, then stealing the Pepsi rep, made you dislike him. Then Scott setting him up and Really's humiliation with the bag on his head and his past drug problem made you switch to preferring Reilly get it. Basically they both deserved it, both had to take a ton of crap, and the movie showcases what a rat-race life is. It's kind of an experimental film in that it basically tests how many times it can make the audience switch back and forth with who the root for.
In the end I wanted Reilly to get it. Scott's character was too stiff, almost like a manikin. He's not as good an actor as Reilly so wasn't able emote enough to get the audience to really empathize with him as much as Reilly did. When Reilly showed his humiliation under the paper bag, you really felt it. Nothing Scott did made you really feel him. I like him, but I don't think he was a good casting choice for this.
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