Entry Level

Seeing this film at the Stony Brook Film Festival out on Long Island, the promise that filmmaker Douglas Horn showed with his short "Full Disclosure" is fulfilled with his first feature film.

Dryly funny, but not a workplace comedy like "Office Space" is...this looks more at the funny ennui that can happen when job seekers keep running into each other at job interviews. D.B. Sweeney and Missi Pyle start a friendship in those dull waiting rooms that leads into something more, but at the same time, great character turns by the other actors (like Kurtwood Smith) makes this an enjoyable ride. It also makes you hungry, as D.B. is a cook that is looking for something new to earn money at...but he can't stop making great sandwiches for everyone he meets.

I liked this film. It was well cast and along with DB, I enjoyed seeing Taylor Negron, Kurtwood Smith, Steve Ryan, and Cedric Yarbrough. Mr Negron caught my attention way back in "Better off Dead" as the smarmy mailman and I very much enjoy seeing him in films. I liked what was done with his character. Missi Pyle is a joy to watch and her quick delivery makes her a potent force on the screen.

The writing was better than good. Mr Horn has done a fine job with this film. Perhaps we could've done more with Cedric Yarbrough's character by bringing him in closer along with the others, but we can't have everything. It's just that I feel that Mr Yarbrough is very talented and I enjoyed every scene he was in. As I type that I have to laugh because I could say that I enjoyed many of the scenes and the various characters presented to us. The only criticism I can offer is that I struggled to connect the two leads, especially with regards to their physicality. But anything is possible and the dialogue between them smooths this over for the most part.

I saw the ending (in my mind) before it happened, but there is no great fault in that and it's not as if it's some great secret here. It is still a very pleasant ride and there are many chuckles throughout. Not a barn burner, but well done and worth watching. I almost gave it a seven, but it sure garners a solid 6 of 10.

Not bad. A likable comedy with likable characters. You don't have to look very hard and it does also have a message.....a nice kind of message. I don't know why IMDb requires 10 lines in a review, especially when films like this really don't require that much. So, that is my review - a film that doesn't need a lot of commentary. OK, a guy likes to cook, but his restaurant doesn't make enough money to survive....so he looks for a job...any entry level job in what he thinks is what society expects of him.....and in the process meets a lot of people who just happen to like him and the food he gets a kick out of making for them. So, that's about it and you can probably guess the rest.

The main surprise I had with this movie was the dialogue. Just excellent. Very clever exchanges between Clay and the homeless guy, between Clay and his new girlfriend, between Clay and the interviewers, between Clay and his fellow interviewees.

Yes, the movie teaches life lessons at several levels. This is definitely more than your standard easy listening feel good movie. I laughed quite a bit to the sarcastic dry underplayed humor. No pie in your face stuff here.

Now I have to go see what other movies the writer/director have been involved with. Not often that I do follow up like this.

This is a very amusing but also worrying portrayal of 'unemployables' trying to get a job in America. I ordered the DVD out of curiosity because I have always liked D. B. Sweeney, whom I find most congenial. He does very well, low key, but solid, and he knows how to hold a lead role without affectations. The film is written and directed by Douglas Horn, who has successfully walked the tightrope of entertaining us and being humorous while at the same time honestly portraying the desperation of the chronically unemployed. That was not an easy thing to pull off. The main character, Sweeney, is a talented chef but refuses to work as one any longer, and finds himself unemployable because he has no other skills. The film shows the same gang of people going from job interview to job interview, always being told they are unsuitable. They all become great friends because they sit in the same succession of waiting rooms and joke about their shared dilemma. It's a good idea for a film, and it works very well.