L'employé du mois

What a surprise! I can't figure out why I had not heard or read anything about this movie when it came out, because it was great. The whole thing was completely unexpected and had a sense of humor about itself, almost being a kind of self-parody. The characters were well fleshed out and the story took such surprising and hilarious turns. This is a movie I could watch many times and will definitely recommend it to friends. I won't say anything about the plot because part of the reason its so much fun is because its so unexpected. But instead of resorting to cheap unnecessary plot contrivances for the twists and turns(like Fight Club, for example!), it actually does have continuity, and we get the joke. Its just too bad this film didn't get more attention and advertising!

Mitch Rouse's "Employee of the Month" was a good discovery. Not having seen it when it was released, we took a chance at it the other night, and it paid off. Mr. Rouse is a man that has worked extensively on television, as well as his co-screen writer, Jay Leggett, who also has a minor role in the film. These men prove they can write and keep their public involved.

The start of the film shows David and Sara toasting to their happiness, something that will be broken in the course of the movie. On the surface, we are watching David at his bank job. He seems to be successful and going places, until he receives the bad news from the bank's director that he is being fired because of his poor performance, when all indicates he is a good employee. On top of that, Sara, who is seen with her parents at a dinner in a restaurant, proceeds to tell him she is walking out on him because she has found out he is having an affair with Wendy, another bank employee, and a friend. How much can a guy take?

The film then changes as David decides to take things into his own hands seeking justice. What we are not prepared for is for the deception on most of the people around, and even David seems to be guided by greed. The surprise ending, in retrospect, seems to make a lot of sense because David is outsmarted by the same ones we didn't have a clue were involved, at all.

Matt Dillon is a good actor to watch. He carries the film because he is the most interesting character of all the ones we meet in the film. Steve Zahn, as the crazy Jack, does amazing things. Christina Applegate and Andrea Bendewald are also good as the duplicitous women who seem to have figured out their men and what make them tick.

The film is great fun. Forget the expectations and just have a good time.

Sunday night I was at a friends house playing cards, he popped in a movie he rented, none of us had ever heard of it, he said he got it because on the box it mentioned something about being 'from the producers of Strangers with Candy' & we're all fans of that darkly-odd kind of humor. It was kinda funny, in-fact really funny in some parts. I read that one reviewer here was 'dissapointed' but I think that's because he was told (ie: expecting) it to be more like 'Office Space'. I wouldn't compare it to that, except that it's about a guy who just stops caring about his job & his life starts to unravel. To me it was more like 'Saving Silverman' or 'One night at Mcools', but it was allowed to be a bit more 'Suicide Kings'-like in its gritty darkness mixed with humor. ( Some people don't like it when a movie makes a sharp-cut from surreal & silly humor to dark & gritty violence in the span of a few beats, but I think its fine, I *like that* I think it keeps the viewer's attention when it takes quick unexpected turns like that, but thats just me.) The only person from Strangers with Candy that I recognized was Stu ( the guy who has a beef ) but aside from wanting to see more SWC cast or writers, I enjoyed it & will rent it again and show it to others who like that kind of cynical-humor.

Matt Dillion was great in this, as he was in 'drugstore cowboy' 'mcools' & 'to die for'...his voice-over narration really set the tone for the whole story that was being told.

David Walsh (Matt Dillon) has a perfect life: a gorgeous fiancée, Sarah Goodwin (Christina Applegate); a beautiful house; a fancy car; a job of manager in a bank. On the day he expects to be elected "The Employee of the Month", he is fired; Sarah finds that he had an affair with his colleague Wendy (Andrea Bendwald) and calls off their engagement; and a hooker sent by his friend Jack (Steve Zahn) to stay with him in a motel steals his car. On the next day, in his farewell, there is a heist in the bank and he is abducted. But his fate before reaching Nirvana has not finished yet.

While watching "Employee of the Month", I was feeling the story very unpleasant, mostly because of the disgusting character of Jack, and also because of the jinx of David. But suddenly, the story twists with an outrageous and surprising plot point, becoming the perfect bad day of David a masterpiece of black comedy. When I first saw Matt Dillon partially burnt in the beginning of the movie, I believed the actor had had some accident, and only later it was disclosed that the scars were part of his character. The unknown Andrea Bendwald is really a very beautiful woman and has an important participation in the conclusion of the story, inclusive along the credits. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Dia Perfeito" ("The Perfect Day")

Beyond that point, it's Wild Things.

This is a fantastic flick with incredible acting on all fronts. . .for the first hour and 28 minutes. Beyond that, it's an all-out race to the bottom. From a tale of a man breaking down in the style of Falling Down - with an acting prowess nearly equal to that of Michael Douglas - it becomes a tale of who can screw who the most. Within the span of three minutes, these characters change themselves from tortured souls dealing with life's unfairness into caricatures of every gang-crime movie that had the bad sense to be put on film. Either the writer for the first ninety five percent of the film was fired, or suffered a psychotic breakdown. We placed this movie on our Netflix queue by mistake (meant to request the more recent Dane Cook flick - never you mind what that says about our cinematic tastes) and were pleasantly surprised. . .right up until the end.