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75The film's refusal to take its characters anything less than seriously makes it cut deeper than a Will Ferrell lampoon.
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75It's totally down-to-earth, as real as a trip to the supermarket.
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75Conrad's script surprises at nearly every turn.
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75There are enough laughs to justify it being labeled as a comedy but a stronger storyline than one normally associates with this kind of film. It's an enjoyable diversion amidst the big guns of summer.
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As to whether a smart comedy about work and family can itself succeed in a marketplace overrun by idiot farces about reluctant bridesmaids (male and female), shotgun Vegas weddings, and finding or losing Mr./Ms. Right . . . this remains to be seen.
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67Conrad seems to have used whatever clout he got from "The Pursuit of Happyness" to fund something personal and sincere -- a story that's ultimately about victories of character and suppressing your worst impulses.
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67It's a sweet, human movie, if not an entirely successful one.
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63Then there's screenwriter Steve Conrad. He's interesting. He likes his protagonists to suffer a little en route to finding a better place, and not in the usual sitcomic ways.
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63A good, occasionally insightful workplace comedy.
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60There's still a lot to like here, but ultimately the movie reflects its hapless hero a little too well. While we're constantly rooting for it to succeed, the finish line seems forever out of reach.
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60As this sweet, ineffectual comedy follows two sad sacks competing for the job of manager at a new branch of a Chicago grocery chain, it pointedly avoids the raucous bad-boy clowning of the typical Everyguy farce. Think of it as a polite, tightly muzzled "Clerks."
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58The Promotion edges toward some pretty bleak stuff. Then it steps back and laughs, like an office slacker.
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58At its best, The Promotion offers a sympathetic view of ordinary people caught on the hamster wheel of corporate politics.
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50It's one of those off-balance movies that seems searching for the right tone.
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50Isn't quite as boring as it sounds, thanks to writer/director Steve Conrad's strong script and decent performances by John C. Reilly and Seann William Scott.
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50Chicago native Steve Conrad, who scripted "The Weather Man" and "The Pursuit of Happyness," makes his feature directing debut with this low-budget comedy, which isn't as broad as its premise might suggest.
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Blends into so much white noise, until all that's left is the lingering sense that the tragic and promising story of Doug and Richard won't be sticking with you past the closing credits.
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You have to wonder whether writer and director Steve Conrad, who wrote the films "Wrestling Ernest Hemingway," "The Weather Man" and "The Pursuit of Happyness," had something more hefty in mind before Harvey and Bob Weinstein came aboard and marketed his movie as a laugh riot. Regardless, it's not the stuff of lighthearted summer comedy.
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30One of the unfunniest comedies ever. Punch lines are lifeless. Characters are borderline catatonic. Running gags can't even walk.
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30A stillborn would-be comedy.
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0Easily the worst movie I've seen so far this year.
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User score distribution:
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Positive: 3 out of 4
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Mixed: 0 out of 4
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Negative: 1 out of 4
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RyanM10
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GerardZ3Weak plot and moves very slow.. John Riley is a tremendous talent worthy of much better material.
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JayH6Very well written with solid performances from Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly. It is slow moving at times, but it is entertaining. Likable.