Employee of the Month (2004)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

So you want some quotable quotes for the office to describe the various jerks we have to work with or for? See this movie.You want some great lines from some good actors: notice Miss Office, playing a hooker, as she explains to Matt the difference between love and f*cking: love is something you feel for another and f*cking is something you do. And then she steals his car. But all done SO sweetly.As for the minister's wife? Sitting there with this compassionate smile on her face all through dinner: then you find out she's lit to the gills. What a great job she did!!!As Matt Dillon plays the good guy, the bad guy, the funny guy, the lover and the killer in all his films, in this film, he plays all those characters. To watch him soulfully do his thing, whether it's at work where he schmoozes up all the folks and makes them feel good BEFORE he's fired and then how he lays it to them AFTER he's fired is an inspiring thing to see. Working in a Stepford Wife corporation myself, it's great to see all these stereotypes that I deal with daily, and probably so do you. Ironically, when he tells these folks the truth, he's doing them more of a favor than when he panders to them.When Matt tells the pregnant woman to go home, you know something is up and he's going to be in the middle of it. Of course, the end tells you that the entire thing is a fantasy, but in the meantime you really enjoy the ride.Do NOT turn off the movie after the 'show' is over. As the credits go rolling by, you'll see scenes that explain all the little quirks that weren't explained in the movie. And for the spoiler? ********************************************************************* Matt Dillon does not play a dead guy well. I think I saw either his eye flicker, or his body twitch, but he was good in the bag. See it. It's hilarious and satisfying.

One of my all time favorite movies ever. I've watched it 3 or 4 times this summer alone. The cast is perfect, and the mix of action, comedy, suspense, drama, etc. is amazing. Steve Zahn is brilliant. Everyone time he shows up in the movie, laughs happen. He is hilarious throughout the entire movie. His humor is completely off the wall, and he almost doesn't even fit into the movie at all, yet fits perfectly. Matt Dillon is so laid back and cool throughout most of the movie, and you almost forget that he doesn't really have a scar in the real life until half way through the movie. The rest of the cast do their jobs perfectly. The entire movie takes a turn equal to Fight Club in my eyes. Even my friend who figures out EVERY movie 30 minutes in, never saw that coming. Then it turns on you again, then you think you know whats going to happen next. Then it doesn't happen, and then it does. Every single performance is right on, the music is perfect, and the miscellaneous humor is spot on. I think the best part, is that almost everything about the movie is given to you up front, you just have absolutely no idea.

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.

Damn nice little surprise this one was! The little prologue sequence, with Matt Dillon's witty voice-over, lead me to believe that the movie indeed would have a sharp edge to it. Then the viewer gets transported to events that happened 36 hours earlier, and you start watching a mild comedy, easy-going with a touch of romance even. But after 15 minutes, Matt Dillon's character gets fired from his job as a bank manager, and things start going down-hill rapidly from there on for the poor dude.The movie just keeps on getting nuttier with every scene. Some of the humor is gross and rude (especially when it's coming from Dillon's dubious life-long buddy Jack, played by a pretty hilarious Steve Zahn), but it's in perfect balance with the sad and extremely funny events that happen to David (Matt Dillon's Character). Chistina Applegate is in it too, as David's girlfriend (I didn't even recognize her at first, even though she still looks beautiful as ever), and you should wait until you see what she comes up with, totally unexpected.Both the cinematography and editing are slick and modern-looking. Lots of nice little tricks in the editing department (speed-up sequences and sudden freeze-frames), but they are never too dominant and remain pleasant eye-candy (if you fancy those kind of techniques, which I do). It all adds up to a smooth look and a fast pace. In a movie like EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH, that dresses itself mildly hip, a good soundtrack is as equally important. And this movie delivers on that. A decent rock/electro soundtrack, and even better: Most of that music seems to be composed especially for this movie. So they didn't go and got some bands to be featured on the soundtrack, but most of this type of music on the soundtrack is instrumental, contemporary and suites the film well.Without spoiling anything, I might add that this movie will have quite some surprises in store for the viewer in the third act. Indeed, it all seems to lead up to that moment where David will snap and go nuts. As much as it is fun to anticipate on when that moment will be, I was very much surprised that there is more to it. Which left me with a satisfied feeling after I was finished watching this movie.This movie confirmed something I know already: I love Matt Dillon. I love witty, clever, fast-paced and good-looking indie-flicks. Hence, EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH is a winner!