Employee of the Month (2006)

Cinema takes on “big block” retailing in Employee of the Month, which was recently released on DVD. Most of the action takes place at a Shopper’s Club, which is a thinly disguised Costco. On the one hand, we have Zack, played by Dane Cook, who is a bottom of the food chain “boxboy” whose only ambition in life is to do as little as possible. On the other hand, we have Vince, played by Dax Shephard who is the obnoxious star employee who has been the employee of the month for the last seventeen months. Number eighteen will put him on the fast track to a career in management. Enter beautiful coworker Amy, played by Jessica Simpson (who thankfully doesn’t break into song…), and as fast as you can say “Price check on register one!” we have the major makings of a love triangle.

Employee of the Month successfully walks the line between entertaining comedy and silliness. It’s always just on the verge of degenerating past silliness to stupid, but in my view, it stays out of that abyss. While this film brought back a few personal memories of a summer spent in the grocery industry, I enjoyed it quite much. While a lot of films bill themselves as a romantic comedy and are almost devoid of any humor, Employee of the Month delivers a larger share of comedy than romance. With that in mind, it’s an enjoyable ninety minute diversion that doesn’t take anything too seriously, and focuses simply on entertainment.

Overall Grade: B+