Fans of singer-actress-reality star Jessica Simpson and stand-up comedian Dane Cook: beware. Even you won't like their star vehicle, "Employee of the Month." Though the actors are both attractive, their performances are sub-par, and the characters they play are simply dumb.
The oh-so-simple plotline begins with Zack (Dane Cook) and Vince (Dax Shepard) in their 10th year as employees of bulk discount chain Super Club. While Vince worked his way up the career ladder to his current position as head cashier, his slacker co-worker Zack has not progressed and still works as a box boy, the lowest occupation on the food chain.
Zack's struggle does not surprise Vince, the cashier known as "the fastest hands in the Southwest," who takes his job way too seriously. Vince believes that, "you can't just walk off the street and do what we do."
Luckily for these two, a gorgeous blonde named Amy (Jessica Simpson) joins forces with Zack and Vince as a cashier transferred from another Super Club location. Rumor has it that Amy is attracted only to co-workers who attain Employee of the Month status, and, of course, both Zack and Vince want to woo the supposedly down-to-earth beauty.
For the last 17 months, "alpha male of the store" Vince has consecutively won the honor that is Employee of the Month. For rival Zack, who usually entertains himself by drawing devil horns and moustaches on Vince's photograph in the staff lounge, things have changed. Zack, who has never made it to work on time, could not have cared less about his job in the past. Now that Amy is in the picture, Zack decides that this is the month he's going to win Employee of the Month - and Amy as well.
The next hour or so of the movie consists of ridiculous date attempts, employees fighting with each other, and generally unintelligent humor. As the race to capture Amy's heart becomes heated, both Vince and Zack rise to the challenge, which ultimately leads to a tiebreaker relay race, cashier-style.
Although Zack pursues the Employee of the Month title for all the wrong reasons, he eventually follows co-worker Iqbal's (Brian George) advice to, "do it for yourself, for pride. And the rest will come, including the girl." Does Zack win Employee of the Month and fellow employee Amy's heart? Does anyone care?
While the cast is full of likeable characters, their on-screen presence is only as good as the bad script. Dax Shepard as Vince and Efren Ramirez as his bag boy Jorge are meant to headline the comedic element as the main butts of oh-so-popular (but not funny) gay couple jokes. Rounding out the supposedly comedic ensemble are Zack's Super Club friends, played by are Andy Dick, Tim Bagley, Brian George and Marcello Thedford.
For added verit?, "Employee of the Month" was shot in an actual functioning store warehouse in Albuquerque, NM. Because the store was open to customers during the day, filming had to be done overnight from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. throughout the entire process. Even with this added touch of reality, the imagined Super Club feels like a manufactured laugh track, with unlikable characters to boot.
Unless you're a 14-year-old boy, you won't enjoy this movie. While the combination of the two stars and the premise of a comedic show with romantic undertones seemed perfect, the result is disastrous.
