Movie #182 - Employee of the Month (2006)

Employee of the Month
2006 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 43 min
Director: Greg Coolidge
Starring: Jessica Simpson, Dane Cook, Dax Shepard, Andy Dick, Harland Williams, Efren Ramirez

Hey, it's Pedro (from Napoleon Dynamite)! And he plays almost the same character!  And Jessica Simpson makes a worthy attempt at acting, but falls flat. Shocking.

So Dane Cook is the lazy guy who's had a tough life. Dax Shepard is the douche-bag who is happy to be a 17-month employee of the month at a wholesale superstore (like BJ's).  Both of them are kinda losers, but only Dane Cook is aware of it.  And he wants to date Jessica Simpson, who is strangely oblivious to Dax Shepard's douchey-ness. 

What bothers me the most about this movie is the way Dane Cook's friends turn on him so suddenly. "Friends."  He's trying to become a better man - breaking his butt, actually - and they're like, "Oh, you're too cool for us now! What about us?!" How about a little support, guys?  In the end, they come through for him. But their sudden anger towards him seems forced, since I don't think his actions warrant it.

In the end, though, this is just a fun, albeit predictable, movie with a pretty, straight-forward premise.  Dane vs Dax is enjoyable to watch, since both seem to buy into their characters completely. It works.

Movie #174 - Dude, Where's My Car?

Dude, Where's My Car?
2000 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 23 min
Director: Danny Leiner
Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Seann William Scott, Jennifer Garner, Kristy Swanson, Hal Sparks

This movie is screaming to be a drinking game. Every time someone says 'dude' you drink. Of course, 45 minutes in you'd be suffering from liver failure. But it would be fun for a little while, right?

These two lovable idiots wrote the book on crazy nights you forget in the morning (hey, writers of The Hangover.... I'm looking at you.)  Of course, it's stoner-riffic and extremely dated. Does anyone say "shibby" anymore? I don't even think I know what that means.  But you can't help but laugh at the ridiculous characters, plot twists, and one-note dialogue. 

And come on. Every time you can't remember where you parked, you know you ask "Dude, where's my car?" just because it seems like the thing to say.  It's nice to have this movie to remember the year 2000, isn't it?