Employee of the Month

Director: Mitch Rouse
Screenwriters: Jay Leggett, Mitch Rouse

Institute History

  • 2004 Sundance Film Festival

Description

David Wells (Matt Dillon) has gotten his life on track. Scarred, literally and figuratively, from a checkered past, he now has a good job at a bank and is engaged to a beautiful woman (Christina Applegate) who loves him. They live in an elegant house and have many successful and caring friends, although one is maybe a little too caring. David's best friend Jack (Steve Zahn) thinks he is making a huge mistake by settling into the comfortable life of the bourgeois. This comes from a guy who poses as a coroner to steal the valuables off corpses. Disregarding Jack's pleas, David heads to work for his two-year review confident he will get his just rewards for his hard work and dedication. Instead, he is fired. A devastating setback…or is it? This is where the fun starts.

Assembling an extremely clever script with cowriter Jay Leggett, director Mitch Rouse spins a fantastic yarn filled with wonderful surprises. A stellar cast turns in top-notch performances, notably Steve Zahn, who nearly steals the show with his inimitable style delivering outrageous lines, and Christina Applegate, who has never been better. Tightly winding these elements into a thoroughly entertaining and original film, Employee of the Month is a side-splitting ride from a gifted filmmaker.

— Trevor Groth

Screening Details

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