American Job

I saw this film about three years ago in a traveling film festival, and ever since it has resided on my proverbial top ten list of great films, along with such masterpieces as Fellini's 8 1/2, Kurosawa's Dreams, Nic Roeg's Walkabout, and Truffaut's 400 Blows. As with those much-celebrated films, this film possesses a quality that is the rarest in cinema; strong unique auteurism. Though it may not be the most entertaining of films, and it may be a little technically rough around the edges, it offers something that any and all viewers who see it should cherish... a privileged glimpse into someone else's truth, via the cinematic medium. I've wondered what would become of the filmmaker's career, fearing that he would be punished with obscurity for opting to make a film with much more integrity than entertainment value. But hopefully due to the success of his newest film, American Movie, I'll have the opportunity to see more works by a (so far) great filmmaker.

ps. Even though I've mentioned a lack of entertainment value in this film, it's still very witty and funny, and I would highly recommend it to anyone... even those of you who like cinematic dog-poo such as Titanic.

this film blew me away. chris smith managed to perfectly nail every summer and part-time job i ever had. i always knew that those experiences had been formative in some important but yet undefinable way. smith manages to actually make a film out of it. some might call it "boring", but to me that's half the point: he expertly communicates the pathos of the mindless job that no one cares about, not even the people doing it. if you've never schlepped burgers at a fast food joint to make some extra money for college, or spent countless mind-numbing hours in a warehouse with people going nowhere in life, then you may not be able to relate to this film.

Some people might find this movie boring. The way todays movies are made, full of action and one line jabs, most people cant sit through something as steadily intelligent as AMERICAN JOB. The movie chronicles a small town nobody and his escapades through various meaningless jobs. It is so refreshing to have a leading character not be a loudmouth , for this small town nobody leads the audience through the movie without adding too much, rather to let them experience his situation along with him. This movie is smart, it is funny, and shows that you don't need millions of dollars to put together a good movie.

I didn't find this movie boring in the least. I really enjoyed the "middle management" types that he dealt with in each of his jobs. I loved the conversations that occurred between the American Worker and each of his different co-workers at all five jobs. His work ethic was lousy but he was amusing. I am looking forward to seeing "American Movie" as soon as I possibly can.

While not as slick (?) or well done as Smith's follow-up "American Movie", this LOW low-budget piece has a charm all its own. While we sympathize with the main character, we don't care if his situation improves. In fact, we hope he continues his aimless sampling of dead-end jobs just so we can tag along.

The real treasures are the conversations Randy has with his fellow loser co-workers. Though probably unintentional (because the acting is so bad), the characters' delivery of vacuous conversation has a unique tempo reminiscent of a Coen Brothers script, though not as extreme a caricature.

Smith tries too hard to shine light on the banality of everyday tasks with several montages of brushing teeth, driving, walking from place to place, etc. The resulting scenes drag on the already sluggish pace, but the destinations (the encounters with idiotic colleagues and superiors) make it worth the wait.

It isn't (as far as I know) out on video, but you might find it on the Independent Film Channel from time to time.