Employee of the Month: A Film for Workers of All Ages

Employee of the Month could have been a waste of time. This movie was rumored to be a bomb, and I feared one of those slacker humor movies where everything looks like a Jim Carrey vehicle that missed. But EOTM is a pleasing light comedy, with none of the crude and misogynistic humor we have come to fear in modern comedy films. It's a cute movie that doesn't ram lewd comedy up your nose.

EOTM stars Dane Cook, a comedian or television presenter, or just all around impresario from a popular cable show. It also stars Jessica Simpson, who I understand to be palatable eye candy but also near box office poison. She stares like a bug eyed squirrel thoughout the film. Why this woman has a singing or acting career must be filed under "DD". Andy Dick also co-stars in the most entertaining work he's done since his former tv show.

I braced for a horribly tepid screenplay filled with acidically sophomoric humor. I willed myself to watch, flinching beforehand at the monster slaps at women and minorities. I was prepared for another rowdy, pointless movie aimed at college freshman looking for date flicks and 13 year olds kidding each other between nanny calls. The buzz was pretty bad.

Instead, EOTM has a kind heart. It stars Cook as a low level slacker at a big box store, who falls for new employee Simpson. The numbing success policies are ignored by everyone but the kissasses. Cook's character Zach coasts in a store built around the personal relationships of those who work there, and the management types everybody has painfully experienced. But in EOTM, the decent person wins.

The transparent policies of the store mottoes and customer policies fall on deaf ears, until Simpson shows up in a tight sweater and gets Zach motivated. The staring and objectification of Simpson is so prevalent, Zach's grandmother pipes up, 'She's really hot!". We learn later that Simpson's cashier reminds him of the success he used to strive for. This is our hero. It's romantic that Zach falls for the cashier, and doesn't simply want a few dates.