THE GOODS: LIVE HARD, SELL HARD (C+)
Jeremy Piven is the selling point (pun intended) for this raunchy and vulgar R rated comedy. Many know Piven from his Golden Globe winning character Ari Gold on the hit show Entourage, and in this film Piven plays a similar character. Lewd, loud, confident, and in charge to name a few. The ensemble cast is star studded (Ving Rhames, David Koechner, Kathryn Hahn, Ken Jeong) and the plot is intriguing so I decided to give this one a try. The only reason I saw this before District 9, is because I waited to see it because I am a good friend.
I cannot say I was pleased to skip a hugely anticipated blockbuster for a comedy that I was skeptical of, but now I have seen District 9 too. So Derek, you are forgiven.
I must say that Kathryn Hahn is a temptress named Babs in The Goods, and she is sensational in this role. Not only does she look good, but she is funny. Not as funny as her character in Step Brothers, but I loved her in this role.
This film establishes off the bat that it is not to be taken serious in any regard, and plausible consideration for what you are seeing is not necessary. Take what you are seeing for what it is because the writers clearly did not think a lot of this script over.The Goods is set at Selleck Motors, a car dealership about to go bankrupt because it is full of barely presentable salesman. In a desperate attempt to save his dealership Ben Selleck (James Brolin) calls up a "gun for hire" to come and sell all the cars off the lot during a huge 4th of July sale. The "gun for hire" is of course Don Ready (Piven) and his strangely interesting and expert group of sales people.
The film takes off from there as Ready's group works tirelessly to promote Selleck, train the current employees how to sell more effectively, and most of all get cars off the lot. Over the course of 3 days the action gets crazier as they all try and save the dealership.
First things first, I laughed a lot throughout this film. I chuckled a lot and had some moments of hysterical laughter. In order to shine in the comedy genre these days filmmakers need more than just raunchy, over the top humor to fill theater seats. This film does not fit that equation, and pushes and pushes shock & awe humor the whole film.
Besides the at times forced humor, the rest of the script was sub par. The dialogue from the characters at times was so bad and unbelievably retarded it made me sit there shaking my head with complete bewilderment. Even though I stated earlier that this film was not to be taken seriously, I got tired of how forced this humor was.
Another thing this film suffered from was too many characters. Instead of focusing on a few supporting cast members, the film had a array of them trying to get in their own funny quirks and one liners. Kind of like X-Men Origins forcing all the different mutants on us, but now the mutants are trying to be funny.
Besides too many characters, I was not interested by most of them (a 10 year old in a mans body). After awhile it seems to be a cluster of actors forcing the lines from the poorly written script. One of the most forced characters was a rival car salesman named Paxton played by Ed Helms (The Office, The Hangover). He is a member of a "man band" call Big Ups, or a "boy band" with 3 way too old members. While at first funny, the idea is stressed way too much and too often to remain comical. I am sure Helms did what he could with this character, but his dialogue was some of the worst in the film.
Overall, unless you are a huge Jeremy Piven fan or absolutely love comedies I do not recommend this movie for more than a rental or matinee showing. This film moves promptly through the many spotlighted characters and the simple plot giving The Goods a quick but forgettable feeling. Despite having some original and hilarious humor it was not enough to save this project as a whole. A poorly composed script by inexperienced writers Andy Stock and Rick Stempson (Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach is their only previous work) does not help this movie stand out among the sea of comedies. If you have to see a movie this weekend, see District 9 or (500) Days of Summer.
Best quote of the movie comes from Will Ferrell dressed up like Abe Lincoln. He shouts, "Just like John Wilkes Booth our prices will sneak up behind you and blow your brains out."
*
