The comedy here is not promotion-worthy

Comedy goes through trends. What used to be funny a year ago might not be funny anymore.

Today, with big hit shows such as “The Office,” workplace comedy has shown to be a major audience pleaser. Writer-director Steve Conrad recognized this and decided to put together a comedy involving grocery store employees.

“The Promotion” takes place at a grocery store where Doug (Sean William Scott) is proud of what he has done as assistant manager and truly believes he is a shoe-in for the new manager position at a nearby store.

But Doug’s confidence drops when another assistant manager, Richard (John C. Reilly), announces his intentions to go after the job as well.

The awkward comedy here is definitely worth seeing, but definitely not worth buying. The movie is full of good-hearted and enjoyable moments that lead to chuckles here and there, but it has nothing unique enough to make a film lover want to purchase it.

For the most part, the performances are strong. Everyone fills their roles well, especially Reilly, who brings most of the funny throughout.

But Scott, whose career is on a downward slide, was not suited well for the lead role.

Conrad does a fair job behind the lens. The pace seems a bit slow and dry, but the assistant manager shift at a grocery store would also seem slow, so perhaps that may be why Conrad went that route. It’s cool that he capitalized on the lifestyle, but it tends to be boring.
 
The DVD contains deleted scenes, director and producer commentary and a feature showing how they made the film and outtakes. None of them are spectacular, but it is nice to see some special content on an independent feature like this. 

“The Promotion” is an average film. It leaves a feel-good taste in your mouth, but it goes away within an hour, because that’s as long as it takes to forget this movie.