So much average

Don't listen to the negative reviews

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The Promotion is billed as a comedy about two guys who both compete for the same position...a promotion. I sat there watching this film, waiting to be entertained, waiting to laugh and waiting to see these characters battle for said promotion. This is a film that just goes through the motions and does not let the comedy roll with it. It's an unfunny, undecided film that lost it's focus from the script stage.The two leads are Sean William Scott and John C. Reilly, both can be funny at times, here they mostly are not. Reilly, gets a few smirks, but here he feels so constrained and you can see it on his face. He wants to let go, but never gets the chance to. Scott plays the same character he's been playing as of late, a joe blow loser. The total opposite of what first made him famous. He plays the role straight, no laughs from him. He seems to be trying to leave the immature image of him at the door, it doesn't seem to be working because he is boring people to death.The main problem with the film is that these two guys don't battle for said promotion. I think they try to trip the other one up once or twice, but that's it. This is a huge disappointment, since if they actually did do any of this, it might have made the film more interesting.The film doesn't play up the environment either. You'd think it would too. It's set at a grocery store, like Employee of the Month. But, instead of focusing on funny situations at this place, it focuses more on the pathetic characters and their pathetic lives. Hmm, interesting take, only we don't give a rats ass about any of these people.The film also has more swearing then I thought it would, it all seems out of place and out of tone with the rest of the film. Not a huge problem, but it just doesn't make it flow very well.

My first clue that "The Promotion" might have a little more below the surface than the usual Seann William Scott junior gag fest was the trailer...it didn't have too much easy humor and the plot seemed genuinely human, and even sensitive. Then there was the fact it was released by Miramax spin-off Dimension, an imprint more well known for horror movies than anything else. Something was up.After seeing the film, I am pleased to say that lurking under the veneer of a slightly stupid mass-market comedy is a deftly knowing little indie movie waiting to surface.The bad part of course is --- I don't know if many who would like the film will see it. It reminded me a little of "The Good Girl" with Jennifer Anniston. It was well scripted, rather slowly paced, and relied more on the script and storyline for laughs rather than leaning too heavily on the star-power of it's two principles.The scene at the team-building retreat (dead-on if you've ever been to one) is a prime example. Yeah, there are a few pratfalls, but most of the time you're shriveling in your seat feeling horribly for John Reilly.He's always been incredible at cutting to the human core of all his characters and he really shines in this part. You don't feel sorry for him as much as you feel empathy. And that's not the easiest thing to do with this character, who is far from lily white. As for Scott, he is definitely growing into an accomplished character actor and it's refreshing to see him tackle something this gray and still turn in a resonating performance. Some of the reviewers see him as a "wimp"....well, that's a bit too easy. I see him as distinctly human.I'm also surprised that this comes from Steve Conrad, whose prior scripts I've always thought of as a bit heavy on the syrup. Nothing is forced here. Yeah, not much happens...this is a slice of life movie, albeit one with a funny crust.It really is a shame it wasn't marketed a bit differently. It sucks to go into a movie expecting something and getting nothing close to what you expected out of it. Which, fortunately for me this time, wasn't the case.

Take a moment to watch the credits.See all the people involved in this movie? Did not one person have the guts to say "this is a real stinker." All in all this movie is waste of film...and a waste of your time. You will find yourself thinking " Maybe something is about to happen. But nothing does. The movie plods along and has a serious lack of funny. There is major talent in this film but they have nothing to work with. The film appears to be made with a first draft script...maybe they planned to do rewrites but ran out of time.On a positive note, the scenes filmed in Chicago make the city look great. Everything else in the film is ca-ca. Note to costume designer: Next time you get a film, take some time to make sure the clothing fits the actors.Do not buy the DVD. Do not rent.

Saw a poster up in a shop a while ago and thought this looked OK. Slightly concerned I'd never heard of it and pretty sure it was "straight to DVD", but with the premise and these guys, surely it was a "can't miss".... or was it? "The Promotion" stars Seann William Scott (in his most challenging role since "Dude, where's my car") and John C Reilly (in his best work since "Never Been Kissed") as two rival assistant managers at a grocery store. The two are hoping to land a manager's job at the new store across town and start undermining each other to make themselves the best candidate. This is where it gets weird. I was hoping for non-stop pranks and capers, yet the film didn't go there and just placed Reilly's character, Richard, in a few awkward moments where he was made to look stupid. You'd expect some non-stop shenanigans and then it turns out neither gets the job, but the film plays out quite like how it would in real life. Neither actor is given much of a leash and is played reasonably straight.The film was OK (wifey actually really liked it), but I guess didn't turn out how I expected. I felt like a night of silly jokes but the film didn't deliver, although I kind of respect what the writer/director (Steve Conrad, who wrote "The Pursuit of Happiness") tried to do. The film tried to be a slightly more realistic of how one of the situations might play out and din't try too much to go for wacky, unrealistic pranks or to go the other way and pull to hard on the heart strings. Just OK, dragged a fair bit at times and didn't deliver what it could have.