Model 'Employee'

There's a certain genre of comedy that few people actually know exists titled: "Work Sucks but Isn't It Funny?" Many hit comedies through the years have fallen into this category, like "Caddyshack" and, of course, "Office Space," the 1999 cult favorite about working in a cubicle typing at a computer.\n"Employee of the Month" falls right into this category of films and actually turns out to be a pretty entertaining one. Although it wasn't a major success in theaters, the movie has many high points and is much more highbrow than might be expected of a film of this caliber.\nThe film is a satirical look at stores across America like Costco and Sam's Club, stores where everything is sold in bulk and that suburban families seem to adore. The first shots in the movie sarcastically show oversized boxes of condoms and beer, which premise the satire of the rest of the film. One of the more subtle yet funnier lines in the film is when the boss says: "Remember! No more than 25 people to a line!"\nThe basic plot of the movie is simple: Dane Cook's character, Zack, is the archetypal slacker who's been a box boy at Super Club (the name of the store) for 10 years and lives with his grandmother. His enemy, Vince (Dax Shepard), is the employee of the month consistently and Zack couldn't care less until Jessica Simpson comes along. She transferred from another Super Club and is known to fall in love with employees of the month. Of course, Zack now tries to outdo Vince and the race is on.\n stretch to play an attractive blonde whom men fight over, but still, it was a solid performance by the singer/actress. \nThe biggest problem with the movie is the sense that the viewer has already seen this movie and its characters a million times before. Shepard does a blatant rip-off of Ben Stiller as the villain, and the entire feel of the movie was a direct homage to "Office Space" with the idea of slacking off at a job you hate.\nThe extras available on the DVD fall short of anything substantial. The only interesting features are an alternate Super Club opening at the beginning and commentaries with Dane Cook and the writer and director, Greg Coolidge. \nOverall, "Employee of the Month" delivers as a funny film that you'll watch and probably never think about again, but it's still worth your time.