The PromotionAfter Dane Cook's Employee of the Month ripped out our interest in office-led comedies and stomped on it, The Promotion was a welcome breath of fresh air that has become a comedic emblem over here at Cinematical. It's graced a top films of 2008 list, popped up in a few fan rants, and has been part of a lot of multimedia. And now, after a modest release, the comedy is on DVD.
Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly play supermarket workers who vie for the same management position in a new store. Scott is told that he's a shoo-in for the gig, which will be nestled near his neighborhood, while Reilly is a new hire straight out of Quebec who is eager for the position. They fall into an insane battle of one-upmanship. In Scott's review, he said: "I just watched it with a jam-packed house at SXSW -- and these folks were laughing like nitrous oxide had just been pumped into the air ducts."
The disc features deleted scenes, a commentary with writer/director Steven Conrad and producers Jessika Borsiczky Goyer and Steven A. Jones, a making-off featurette, promotional webisodes, and finally, outtakes.
Check out Scott's Review | Buy the DVD
Monster CampThis is just a little more indie fun in the swarm of lesser-known films released this week. The documentary, straight from filmmaker Cullen Hoback, focuses on some online fantasy gamers who head for NERO -- New England Role Playing Organization. Oh yes, a nerd fest that makes Comic Con look like the mainstream. The film follows these World of Warcraft players as they push aside their work attire and "transform into often antithetical fantastical characters."
A Variety review said of the film: "Dweeby doesn't begin to describe the bulk of the protagonists in Monster Camp. ... Nonetheless, they prove winning -- and their pastime fascinating -- in this fun nonfiction feature." There are "in-game sexual dynamics," and a selection of gamers from the ultimate addict who can't finish high school because he spends too much time with the game, to the dad who spends more time with WOW than with his kid.
The disc includes two short films and a director's commentary.
Buy the DVD
Other New DVD Releases for September 2
Transformers -- The Transformable Special Edition
Married Life
Then She Found Me
Outsourced
How to Rob a Bank
Bait Shop
Water Lillies
1. Based on the amount of praise Cinematical has heaped on The Promotion, I excitedly ran over to my local Hollywood Video this morning to rent it only to find that they didn't even stock the movie.
Weinstein Company release, I'm guessing?
Posted at 4:37PM on Sep 2nd 2008 by Mike