The Promotion
The Promotion stars Seann William Scott who gradually continues to shuck off his American Pie Stickler persona. Still he remains synonymous with comedy and this time plays Doug Stauber the assistant manager of a Chicago grocery chain store who seems poised to be promoted to manager of the new store under construction until a new guy transferred from a Canadian subsidiary puts his rubber stamping in jeopardy. John C. Reilly is Richard the Quebecois who curiously has no hint of an accent unlike his wife Laurie (Lili Taylor) – OK it’s an Irish accent but an accent none the less. Doug feels inadequate in the eyes of his wife Jen (Jenna Fischer from The Office) especially compared to her leering boss who is better looking and performs miracle surgery on children so he’s overly motivated to get the job. Not only that but when he thought he was a sure thing for the gig he put his life savings on a house he can’t afford on his current salary. Meanwhile for a variety of reasons Richard is equally motivated so it’s game on between the two, trying to impress the board of directors headed by Vancouver’s Gil Bellows. Uniquely endearing is that fact that there is no real bad guy here – you root for both of the job seekers but a rushed ending hinders a whole hearted promotion of The Promotion.