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The Promotion

Play trailer Poster for The Promotion R Released Jun 6, 2008 1h 26m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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54% Tomatometer 76 Reviews 28% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Doug Stauber (Seann William Scott) holds the post of assistant manager at a Chicago supermarket that plans to open an additional store right in his own neighborhood. His boss (Fred Armisen) assures him that he is the top choice for managing the new location. This changes when the affable Canadian Richard Wehlner (John C. Reilly) joins the staff. To Doug's alarm, Richard has his eye on the same position -- and it's not long before the two colleagues erupt into all-out managerial warfare.

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The Promotion

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Critics Consensus

With a workplace-related theme worthy of satire, The Promotion features some sharp witticisms but ultimately disappoints.

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Critics Reviews

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Wesley Morris Boston Globe Rated: 2/4 Nov 24, 2011 Full Review Ben Kenigsberg Time Out Rated: 2/5 Nov 17, 2011 Full Review St. Louis Post-Dispatch Rated: B Oct 18, 2008 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins There's nothing overly spectacular about the film, a simple comedy about career-oriented rivalry, yet it has an odd way of succeeding at nearly every little joke it makes. Rated: 7/10 Nov 28, 2020 Full Review Nick Rogers Midwest Film Journal A bit Alexander Payne social satire, a bit Mike Judge's "Office Space," "The Promotion" keeps the laughter mostly low-key while addressing deflating truths about occupational angst -writer/director Steve Conrad's sturdy thematic stock-in-trade. Rated: 3.5/4 Sep 17, 2010 Full Review Kelly Vance East Bay Express Sort of a Dilbert riff, only lower on the food chain. May 5, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Larry K Some really funny parts in this. Just something missing about it Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/22/24 Full Review Ernest B Weird little quasi-morality tale with an underdeveloped plot. Light on laughs, mostly a waste of time in spite of its charming cast. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 07/27/24 Full Review Audience Member I think I had my expectations set way too high for this movie. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/04/24 Full Review Test T Given the storyline, I was expecting a comedy, but sadly it's not. The tone of the movie is flat and serious which for me resulted in a rather dull experience. Frankly, the every day rivalries of the two supermarket employees are just not interesting enough to keep the viewer entertained when played straight. On the positive side, it does promote the virtues of fair play winning through adversity, but it is so melancholy you probably won't care about that. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 10/15/23 Full Review Samir N Horrible storyline and not horrible in a funny way. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 10/04/23 Full Review Stephen C LOL, 01 hours: and 26 minutes of humorous f**ked up sh*t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Promotion

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Movie Info

Synopsis Doug Stauber (Seann William Scott) holds the post of assistant manager at a Chicago supermarket that plans to open an additional store right in his own neighborhood. His boss (Fred Armisen) assures him that he is the top choice for managing the new location. This changes when the affable Canadian Richard Wehlner (John C. Reilly) joins the staff. To Doug's alarm, Richard has his eye on the same position -- and it's not long before the two colleagues erupt into all-out managerial warfare.
Director
Steve Conrad
Producer
Jessika Borsiczky, Steven A. Jones
Screenwriter
Steve Conrad
Distributor
Third Rail
Production Co
Dimension Films
Rating
R (Sexual References|Language|Some Drug Use)
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 6, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 5, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$406.3K
Runtime
1h 26m
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