Employee of the Month (2004)

Director:

Mitch Rouse

Writers (WGA):

Mitch Rouse (written by) &
Jay Leggett (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Congratulations, you're fired!

Plot:

"Employee of the Month" is about a guy whose day spirals from bad to worse when he gets fired from his...

Plot Keywords:

Bank | Engagement | Hooker | Bank Robbery | Shot In The Head

Cast

Matt Dillon	...	David Walsh
Steve Zahn	...	Jack
Christina Applegate	...	Sara Goodwin
Andrea Bendewald	...	Wendy
Dave Foley	...	Eric
Jay Leggett	...	Dorff
David Pasquesi	...	Kyle Lacopa
Peter Jason	...	Bill Gartin
Paul Dooley	...	Reverend Ben Goodwin
Noel Gugliemi	...	Chicken (as Noel Guglielmi)
Renee Albert	...	Martha
Enrique Almeida	...	Ruben
Mark Beltzman	...	Hank
Brian Blondell	...	Paulo, the Waiter
John Timothy Botka	...	Yuppie

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/16 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | USA:R | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Employee of the Month

Trivia:

The number on the bus David rides after being fired is 5150, which is a police code meaning 'danger to self and/or others.'

Goofs:

Continuity: After Matt Dillon gets done peeing on the bank manager's picture, it is dry again a few moments later.

Quotes:

Jack: Look, there's a reason why I'm your oldest friend in the world.
David Walsh: I can't seem to remember what it is right now.
Jack: I tell the truth.

Movie Connections:

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

The Perfect Bad Day – A Masterpiece of Black Comedy

David Walsh (Matt Dillon) has a perfect life: a gorgeous fiancée, Sarah Goodwin (Christina Applegate); a beautiful house; a fancy car; a job of manager in a bank. On the day he expects to be elected "The Employee of the Month", he is fired; Sarah finds that he had an affair with his colleague Wendy (Andrea Bendwald) and calls off their engagement; and a hooker sent by his friend Jack (Steve Zahn) to stay with him in a motel steals his car. On the next day, in his farewell, there is a heist in the bank and he is abducted. But his fate before reaching Nirvana has not finished yet.

While watching "Employee of the Month", I was feeling the story very unpleasant, mostly because of the disgusting character of Jack, and also because of the jinx of David. But suddenly, the story twists with an outrageous and surprising plot point, becoming the perfect bad day of David a masterpiece of black comedy. When I first saw Matt Dillon partially burnt in the beginning of the movie, I believed the actor had had some accident, and only later it was disclosed that the scars were part of his character. The unknown Andrea Bendwald is really a very beautiful woman and has an important participation in the conclusion of the story, inclusive along the credits. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Dia Perfeito" ("The Perfect Day")