Bad Boss

I don't like the genre, and I didn't expect to like this, and I was right. But since it's a bit unfair to give a bad rating just because you don't like the genre, I gave it an extra star. And TBH, it could've been worse. It was silly, but not as cringe-worthy as expected. It had several really good actors (and I don't get why they agreed to this), and I was happy to find out they didn't make them over-act (too much, anyway) as I would've expected from this genre.

Well, "Demoted" wasn't bad, but it wasn't a whole lot of laughs either. That being said, then it must be said that the movie was actually good, nonetheless, as it had a very nice and warming story to tell.

"Demoted" is about top sales guys Mike (played by Sean Astin) and Rodney (played by Michael Vartan) working at Treadline Tires, and they are living the sweet, easy life, that is up until their boss drops dead from a heart attack, and the office 'joke' Ken Castro (played by David Cross) takes over the company. The two head ponchos find themselves demoted to secretaries, and have to deal with being lower on the corporate ranking of Treadline Tires.

Initially, I had expected more laughs from this movie, but still, I was thoroughly entertained, as the storyline was great and well executed. And the movie had some really nicely drawn out characters with lots of personality and variety. It was sort of a movie that goes to prove that the 'underdog' can achieve great things as well, and you don't have to be at the very top of the corporate line in order to be successful or in order to make a difference.

"Demoted" had some nice performances by the various actors and actresses. I personally enjoyed seeing David Cross in the role of Ken Castro, he was just great and really brought some great comedy to the movie.

As for a comedy of this caliber, then "Demoted" really doesn't bring anything new to the genre, nor does it play out anything that haven't been seen before. So it is basically straight out of the drawer material here. But it does work out well enough, especially if you enjoy these types of comedies.

This film is billed as a comedy, and it is a funny film. I didn't think it deserved some of the low ratings it has been given. There were many laugh-out-loud moments for me. I'd say, relax, watch this movie, and enjoy yourself.

Truly bad comedies with horrid acting, bad scripts, faux humor or worse 100% toilet humor are all too common. Enter 'Demoted. Saw the trailer which out of the gate looked to be a funny tale of fish out of water as two top salesman at the Treadline Tire Co. are demoted, by their arch rival, to mere office secretaries.

Having verbally abused the secretarial staff for years our 'heroes' slowly, over time, give this movie 'heart' as they see how the 'other side' lives and works. For example, they were clueless to the fact that women are never promoted to the sales force. That as well as the issue of 'unions' and workers rights blend well as the two 'fish' learn the ways of the pond. The new evil 'boss' Ken Castro is played in awesome fashion by David Cross.

Humor meets 'heart' as our bumpkins are determined to teach a 300+ pound secretary to jog! The toilet/plumbing scene is hilarious. Yes, crude references abound but do not overshadow the mostly funny and heart felt script. Good acting all around. This is one madcap sales force you will enjoy meeting.

The direct to video effort Demoted brings one fantastic corporate office satire to mind and immediately suffers by comparison. That satire, of course, is Mike Judge's cult hit Office Space, a funny, poignant, and brutally honest look at inside the cubicle, observing three men fed up with their boss, their job, and every sickening event that happens day in and day out.

There are times when clearly Demoted wants to be that film. It wants to pack in relatable qualities found in the workplace, it wants to create characters that lie around your office, and it wants to make people you've seen before. The problem is that it is so textbook and underachieving in almost every field that it becomes less a relatable film and more of an envious portrayal of the life you wish was as convenient as your own.

Mike and Rodney (Sean Astin and Michael Vartan) are the office pranksters at their company, where they spend some time selling tires over the phone, but more time harassing fellow employees, mainly Ken Castro (David Cross). They have a notable relationship with the current boss, but after he dies in a night of boozing, strippers, and camaraderie, the head position is given foolishly to Castro (a name that will prove wholly fitting). He is dictative, boisterous, and sickeningly belligerent, and demotes Mike and Rodney to the secretary position - a position they sneered and mocked prior to this demotion.

Rodney is getting married and, after being put on the spotlight by her snotty father, tells her that he is getting a promotion and is a big shot at the office. It is truly inevitable this excuse will backfire, causing his marriage to subsequently go under, yet be miraculously saved in a foolish and contrived scene. It is too inevitable that Mike and Rodney will not have very much fun walking in someone else's shoes. I believe it was Atticus Finch from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird that you can never totally understand someone until you climb in their shoes and walk around for a while. Their case doesn't seem so much like that as it seems an urgent alliance. They, then, witness all the disheartening budget cuts Castro is making and plot to stop him.

I enjoyed the first act of Demoted, stared blankly, chuckling occasionally during the second, and finally, snickered and yawned during the third. There are times when the film genuinely wants to incorporate intelligent satire and wit to its material, but it is stuck in a rut of clichés waste-deep. Astin is a fine choice for Mike, playing a simple and likable man, if a caricature, and Vartan does his best with the role of the everyman, desperately careening towards the idea of making his marriage work. But who is brought to a solid light here is David Cross's Castro, but even he feels cheated on the levels of destruction he could so helpfully bring to a comedy of errors.

And that's where Demoted flounders. Too many clichés, too many ridiculous setups, too many cheap-shots taken at decent people, too many instances that beg us to laugh, and too much suspension of disbelief that we haven't seen Office Space. Likable cast, efficiently determined script, but an execution that has direct-to-DVD rehash written all over it.

Starring: Sean Astin, Michael Vartan, and David Cross. Directed by: J.B. Rogers.