Employee of the Month stars Dane Cook, Dax Shepard, Efren Ramirez, Andy Dick, Harland Williams, and Jessica Simpson. Taking place in a Costco-like store the competition between two employees for the employee of the month award and the affection of the new cashier becomes hostile. In the past Dane Cook, Dax Shepard, Efren Ramirez, and Harland Williams have all been known to provide a good laugh, so this movie has potential.

Zack (Dane Cook) is a slacker who lives with his grandma; Vince (Dax Shepard) .is a seventeen-time employee of the month recipient and simply put the two don’t get along. Vince is arrogant and conniving, Zack is a mellow straight shooter, but when Vince pushes his buttons and becomes a month away from winning a brand newish Chevy Malibu, Zack decides to give him a run for his money. Zack exchanges some funny dialogue with his slacker buddies played by Andy Dick, Harland Williams, and Brian George about how to put Vince in his place. At the same time Vince shares some hilarious dialogue with Jorge (Efren Ramirez) his sidekick in how to maintain his streak of employee of the month. To mix things up a little bit, Amy (Jessica Simpson) is transferred to the store and becomes an object of affection for both Vince and Zack. The two now plot against each other to see who gets the girl and who becomes employee of the month.

A decent comedy that had a few good laughs followed by some scenes that seemed to drag on, Employee of the Month ultimately could have been about 20 minutes shorter than it was. On the negative side, I didn’t really know what was more annoying, Jessica Simpson’s pitiful attempt at acting or Andy Dicks face. I can’t help but wonder that Don Simpson’s producing credit didn’t help sway Jessica Simpson in getting this role, but that’s neither here nor there, not even her or Any Dick were able to completely take away from what little charm this movie had. The paring of Dane Cook and Dax Shepard provided for quite a few good laughs, but ultimately Employee of the Month wasn’t that great of a comedy. The addition of Efren Ramirez as Vince’s soft-spoken seemingly unintelligent right hand man was a notable one also adding to the list of reasons why this movie deserves a slightly above average rating. But ultimately the movie tried to be serious at times and failed, and lead to a typical Hollywood ending that was predictable right from the get-go. Employee of the Month is a comedy that is worth checking out, but I would ultimately advise against the purchase.

Video

Employee of the Month, presented in 1080p 1.85:1 aspect ratio, comes to Blu-ray with some mixed results. Details were very crisp, I could see every brand in the Save Mart from Kitchen Aid to Phillips light bulbs every package was clear and readable. Unfortunately colors were all over the place in this film. At times they could be so bright; looking at Jessica Simpson’s teeth was like looking at a welding torch flame. Flesh tones in some scenes looked very artificial often looking orangey; in others they look much too dark. Lionsgate provides a disc with mixed results, while the detail was very impressive, its inconsistent colors will leave some viewers frustrated.

Audio

Included on the disc are two nice sounding tracks, Dolby Digital EX and DTS HD. As expected, most of the film relies heavily on the front channels. Dialogue from hear sound crisp and clear, never distorted or suffering from balancing issues. The biggest downfall of the track is the lack of rear channel support; aside from a few instances they remained silent for most of the film. Hard to expect much from a comedy but in the end it does good with what it has.

Special Features

• Audio Commentary – Commentary by Dane Cook and Director Greg Coolidge.
• Deleted Scenes – 4 minutes of deleted, none that really add anything to the film.
• Bloopers – 5 minutes of bloopers. There are a few funny ones in here, most should enjoy this feature.
• Ad-Libs – 4 Minutes of Ad-Libs by Andy Dick and Harland Williams.
• At Work With Lon – A 2 minute look at Lon’s (Andy Dick) job. This feature surprising has a few laughs.
• The Beauty of Bulk – A 4 minute look at why Super Club and bulk is so successful. All actors are still in character for this feature.
• Men of Super Club – 9  minute look at the men that form the Super Club team and what their job entails.
• On Set Shenanigans – A 5 minute look at the constant joking around cast members faced while on set.

Final Thoughts

A comedy movie that is saved solely on the backs of the perfectly cast Dane Cook and Dax Sheppard, the laughs were pretty good but at times pretty far between. Jessica Simpson added nothing to this movie, who by the way doesn’t look as appealing in high definition as in standard definition, so unless you just like to stare at her for nearly two hours don’t expect much.

Special Features List

• Audio Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Bloopers
• Ad-Libs
• At Work With Lon
• The Beauty of Bulk
• Men of Super Club
• On Set Shenanigans