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It was another great night at MIFF, which is evolving into the preeminent film event in Chicago. It's a happening, baby!

My review of "The Promotion"

Nearly everyone, barring trust funds or a lucky life, has worked a crappy job. But it took writer/director Steve Conrad to put that life in perspective, in the essentially real "The Promotion." Telling some bulls eye truths, this made-in-Chicago independent film relies on empathetic familiarity and blisteringly great performances from an all-star cast.

“The Promotion” is a story about two assistant grocery-store managers – Doug (Seann William Scott, who was Stifler in “American Pie”) and Richard (John C. Reilly) – who are vying for a coveted manager post at the new branch of their Chicago-based grocery chain. Doug is pursuing the American Dream with his wife (Jenna Fischer) with the hopes of buying a house. Richard is a somewhat sad sack of a soul, but sees an opportunity to advance and proceeds accordingly.

Through the awkwardness of the store’s corporate office to the daily grind in the peculiarities of customer problems in a grocery store, Conrad and his talented supporting crew – including Fred Armisen, Lili Taylor and Gil Bellows – interpret this recognizable scenario with poignant and hilarious results.

The two leads play cat-and-mouse with entertaining and malicious intent. Seann William Scott is especially surprising as the earnest but somewhat befuddled working stiff – a nice departure for him. He deftly creates the mask of the everyman who tries to do the right thing while at the same time desiring the prestige and money of the new position.

Reilly as usual creates a precise characterization, with a Canadian accent and sharp comic timing, that is born more from the inner workings of a not-too-bright and emotional inept assistant manager. He has a tap-dance scence – yes, a real tap-dance – that seems to completely define his nature.

Both rivals know the stakes in the promotion game, and that is what gives this film a warm feeling of reality.

There’s a running gag in the film culminating into a moment of pure joy that’s rarely seen in movies today. As a film critic, there is a "no cheering from the press box" decorum that seems to be an unwritten rule among my colleagues. I couldn't help spontaneously cheering for this particular moment and clapping my hands together in passionate glee.

It's the small victories of everyday existence that Steve Conrad celebrates in "The Promotion." How else do we practice the meaning of life?

***1/2 stars

But there is more! Read my interview (click the link below) with writer/director Steve Conrad on my home web base, HollywoodChicago.com

http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/2700/interview-director-steve-conrad-elevates-chicago-setting-sean-william-scott-in-new-comedy-the-promotion

Pat McDonald is a Chicago based film critic and writer. Read his reviews and articles at...

http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/
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