Employee of the Month (12A)

Jan 5 2007 By Graham Young, Birmingham Mail

AS NAPOLEON might have said, Britain is now a nation of shoppers.

Harassed workers facilitating this 21st Century excess might well find solace in a comedy which makes fun of staff competitiveness.

Set in Super Club, a huge, American-style warehouse store just like Star City's Costco, this is the story of the battle between two shopfloor rivals.

Top cashier Vince Downer (Dax Shepard/Without a Paddle) wins the Employee award month after month and is the hot favourite to garner the attention of buxom newcomer Amy (Jessica Simpson/The Dukes of Hazzard).

Better looking 'box boy' Zack Bradley (Dane Cook/Stuck on You) then decides to wise up and offer some stiff competition.

Debut directed by little known New Jersey-born actor Greg Coolidge, Employee of the Month bizarrely includes character names like Glen Gary and Glen Ross in reference to David Mamet's play/film Glengarry Glen Ross about a real estate office.

Clearly desiring to be just another dumb Hollywood comedy the rest of the time, it's no worse than Jack Black's recent offerings, Tenacious D and Nacho Libre.

But there's nothing approaching real life in any of the leading characters and Coolidge misses countless opportunities to become a satirical, shopfloor equivalent of either Super Size Me or An Inconvenient Truth.

The only surprise, when you think about it afterwards, is that the likes of Tesco aren't full of bigger, warehouse-style trolleys as a subliminal incentive to boost sales.