The Promotion (2008)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-Making Of Deleted Scenes Featurette-Webisodes Outtakes
Rating
Year Of Production	2008
Running Time	82:20
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (52:30)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Steve Conrad
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Seann William Scott John C. Reilly Chris Conrad Rick Gonzalez Adrian Martinez Maestro Harrell Kristopher Lofton Jarreau Brown Edwin M. Walker
Case	Amaray-Opaque
RPI	?	Music	Alex Wurman

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     If you have been reading my reviews for a while you may have noticed that I like to give things a try which may not have been released with any fanfare but which strike my interest in some way. This approach has meant that I have reviewed a whole lot of things which I would not have seen otherwise but have greatly enjoyed. It also unfortunately means that sometimes I watch things I regret selecting for review. This is one of those times.

    The Promotion is a 2008 production starring two fairly high profile comedic actors, Seann William Scott & John C. Reilly. I have enjoyed Reilly's work in the past in films such as Talledega Nights, Chicago and even his little known leading man gig in Criminal. His presence combined with what seemed like a reasonable premise for comedy encouraged me to give this film a go. Unfortunately, it suffers from the worst crime in cinema, it is painfully boring.

    The story revolves around a supermarket in a less affluent area in an American city. One of the assistant managers, Doug Stauber (Seann William Scott) is struggling to make ends meet with his wife Jen and they desperately wish to move out of their rented apartment into a house. When the supermarket chain decides to open a new store nearby Doug is very keen to get the job as its manager (the promotion of the title). His current manager tells him he is a shoe-in for the new job and he feels confident until a new assistant manager is transferred in from Canada, Richard Wehlner (John C Reilly). Suddenly Doug is no longer a definite for the job and he needs to impress the board to beat Richard for the new role.

    Despite what sounds like a reasonable set up, this film is badly let down by insipid writing and directing from Steven Conrad, a man with a decent track record as a writer for films like The Pursuit of Happyness. It is mercifully short but this is the best thing I can say for it, other than the soundtrack featuring some quality Creedence Clearwater Revival tunes. There are a few mildly amusing moments but this comedy just doesn't cut it.

    Avoid!

Video

    The video quality is very good.

    The feature is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, 16x9 enhanced which is the original aspect ratio.

    The picture was somewhat soft early on however became better after the first few minutes. Shadow detail is very good.

    The colour was very good with no issues to report.

    There were no obvious artefacts.

    There are subtitles in English for the hearing impaired. They were clear and easy to read.

    There is a layer change at 52:30. It is noticeable but not too bad.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is very good but uninspiring.

    This DVD contains three audio options, an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack encoded at 448 Kb/s, an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at 192 Kb/s and an English Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack encoded at 192 Kb/s.

    Dialogue was clear and easy to understand throughout.

    The music sounds good consisting of a score by Alex Wurman and classic rock songs.

    The surround speakers were only really used for some of the music and some mild atmosphere.

    The subwoofer was not used in any noticeable way.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    The extras are 16x9 enhanced.

Menu

    The menu features music and motion.

Making the Promotion (17:48) 

    Pretty standard EPK style making of.

Webisodes (3:47, 0:46, 1:36, 1:02, 1:04) 

    Five short behind the scenes and deleted scene webisodes.

Deleted Scenes (1:09, 0:42, 1:39, 0:53, 1:00, 1:57) 

    Average set of deleted scenes. They were not included for good reason

Outtakes (3:02) 

    Painful, mostly giggling.

    The Region 1 version includes a director's commentary in addition to the local extras. So, if you really must the Region 1 takes the prize.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    This would be a decent set of extras if the film was worthwhile.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall