UptownRox
The review below "Extremely Under rated Film" gets close to what this film is about, but I wouldn't give it an 8, or give it a highly recommend. I would say if it's playing on the indie film channel check it out.The film is full of understated and off-beat humor, like when John C. Reilly talks about how hard it is to have a hurt wrist, points to his wrist-brace and says, "This thing weighs 62 grams man!". The humor comes off as being both off-beat funny and leaves you asking the question, "was that the punchline?" It's not brilliant, witty comedy, but it's different. You can tell there's some intelligence taking place in the comedy. So if understated humor is your thing, it's pretty entertaining.Sean William Scott as a straight-laced operator is pretty rough cause you're always expecting him to break out into hijinx and act like a goofball. John C. Reilly is pretty awesome, the tap-shoe bit is pretty funny, but his role leaves you wanting more John C. Reilly. Fred Armisen isn't in the movie as much as the other two, but he definitely carries it.
Paul Magne Haakonsen
I bought this movie on a whim, finding it by sheer random luck in the store. I saw who was in the movie and I thought this would actually make for a good comedy. So I had my hopes up for the movie.Having seen it now, I am somewhat disappointed. Now, the story in itself is not a bad one, not at all. There were some nice pointers to the storyline and some great moments. However, for me at least, there weren't all that many laughs in the movie. I was expecting more comedy from the movie.Seann William Scott (playing Doug Stauber) and John C. Reilly did add their own personal touches to the movie and their characters. However, I just think that Johnn C. Reilly wasn't allowed to really shine through here, because he has some other movies that were far funnier than this, and that made his performance in this movie pale in comparison. Fred Armisen (playing Scott Fargas) was also quite good in this movie, despite having only a supporting role."The Promotion" has a good storyline, but it is not really all that rich on comedy, which was a disappointment to me. For me, all in all, this movie was fairly mediocre, and there are better movies out there with both John C. Reilly and Seann William Scott.
dzlz105
I stumbled on this movie on cable and watched most of it. This is not a side-splitting comedy; you smile at the situations because they are so close to the truth. I've worked at less-than-professional jobs, where people were asked to report on one another, to wear paper hats & blow noisemakers at team-building events, to repeat slogans, and the like. Not too many movies focus on everyday work life -- the titans in the banking industry, with their huge bonuses, should watch this to see how the other 98 percent of us live. The two main characters are portrayed sympathetically. I was surprised at how Reilly was able to depart from his usual pie-in-the-face acting style. I'm not familiar with Scott's acting, but I liked his open-faced sincerity in this movie. Cute bit in the last scene as he's dashing down the street. Did he do his own stunts? My opinion: This is not a superb movie, but it's much better than most TV shows.
witster18
As a fan of both Sean William Scott and John C. Reilly, I started this film with excitement. The film started what appeared to be a comedy with the usual plot and suspects... then it decided to take another direction.This was a mistake.They've really wasted the talent of the leads here. Scott is pretty good but Reilly's character is dull and boring and the film takes on those characteristics as well. Instead of another 'step-brother's' feud we end up with a forgettable film that has some laughs, but ultimately fizzles into a meaningless, near-humorless mess, void of both plot and personality. Looking back I think I laughed hard once... but 24 hours later I can't even remember the scene.... if that says anything.Could be destined for the worst of 2009 list..Extremely disappointed and amazed at ANY rating higher than 5... and that would be generous.27/100 1.5/5stars 3/10You MIGHT like it if you liked:Career Opportunities, Joe Vs. The Volcano, Outsourced, Election, and Cyrus.
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