Review: Employee Of The Month (2004)

Oh, Pam, you never talk like that on The Office!

Written By: Jay Leggett & Mitch Rouse
Directed By: Mitch Rouse

Employee Of The Month falls into that weird area where it is an obviously middling film, yet I had a lot of fun with it. There’s not a single great acting performance to be found, the plot falls apart under the tiniest bit of scrutiny, it’s over the top in every way possible and when you look back at what has taken place or what some of the scenes have shown, none of it makes sense. Despite all of that, I still have a lot of fun every single time I watch Employee Of The Month.

Steve Zahn is funny, his character cracks me up. He’s disgusting and abhorrent, but I laugh at everything he does, so sue me. The movie goes by at an economical pace and it has a nice flow to it that is never interrupted. Jenna Fischer, Pam from The Office, plays a hooker and makes me feel all giggly on the inside by asking Matt Dillon if he wants a blowjob or to cum on her tits. Fans of The Office will understand why her saying such things is surreal, and no matter how many times I see her in Employee Of The Month she gets me every time. I can’t give any other specific examples, but for some reason or another I enjoy the heck out of this movie. Despite it’s many flaws I have a lot of fun with this every time I watch it.

I could go on and on about the flaws in Employee Of The Month, but I won’t. There are a few big things that on their own let you know what is so very wrong with this picture. There are scenes where characters are by themselves, and they are letting out legitimate emotion, but later when the entire picture is provided to the audience those scenes make no sense and are as false as they come. The plot is all over the place, with holes so big a truck could drive through them. And, for as much fun as I had with it, Employee of The Month is incredibly frivolous, in tone, themes, characters, in every facet you can think of.

Fans of The Office need to see Employee Of The Month for the Jenna Fischer performance. Otherwise I can only recommend you see Employee Of The Month if you are prone to finding mediocre movies fun for some unknown reason. It really is a forgettable and middling film, yet I keep on going back to it and enjoying it for some unknown reason. Employee Of The Month is a movie that is much like it’s honorific namesake, all kinds of confusing.

Rating:

**

Cheers,
Bill