SXSW Review: THE PROMOTION

Some might argue that Doug is too ordinary to be believed. He doesn’t dream of rock stardom, or becoming an actor, or writing a novel, or becoming rich. All he wants to do is provide for his family. In fact, Doug is a figure too rarely seen in American cinema: a man who enjoys working, a man who always gives his best effort, a man whose only ambition is exceedingly modest.

As Doug contemplates a job change—the only promotion left for him is to become a manager, and openings are rare—he discovers that the supermarket chain is planning to open another store in the area. That becomes the apparent answer to all his problems. He’s assured by his supermarket manager boss (Fred Armisen) that he’s “a shoo-in,” so he moves forward with his house purchasing plans.

Everything comes to a screeching halt when Richard (John C. Reilly) arrives on the scene. He’s transferred from a store in Canada and appears to be very friendly and competent, but he also applies for the manager position at the new supermarket. That makes him a direct rival to Doug, and a very unwelcome one. Doug immediately imagines Richard to be a back-stabbing threat, but Richard goes out of his way to try and befriend Doug.

Richard admits to being a recovering addict and introduces Doug to his Scottish wife (Lili Taylor) and infant daughter, which makes Doug doubt himself even as he becomes increasingly suspicious that Richard is playing mind games and engaging in cut-throat office politics. The rivalry between the two men becomes fierce, soon erupting into all-out war.

It’s odd to see Sean William Scott playing such a serious, focused character, but he does alright with the role. He is probably a bit too colorless; some of that is the way the part was written, and some apparently stems from Scott resisting too strongly the temptation to overplay. In doing so, he sucks some life out of Doug in his more serious moments. Scott’s advantage is that he has no problems delivering in the scenes that call for comic reactions.

John C. Reilly does a lot by doing very little. At certain points, director Conrad allows the camera to linger on Reilly, who does tiny bits of business with his eyes or cheeks or eyebrows. If you’ve caught the groove of the movie, it’s very funny; if you haven’t, it will look self-indulgent and strained.

That could be said for the movie as a whole. The Paramount Theater was packed, and rocked with laughter throughout the movie, though it should be acknowledged that the crowd also erupted into applause at the appearance of an actor or two in surprise cameos. It’s easy to like The Promotion—and I recommend it for its humor and style—but I could see some people running for the exits as well, though that didn’t happen at our screening.

Related Links

• Twitch covers SXSW 2008
• SXSW 2008