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Matt Dillon, Steve Zahn, Christina Applegate, Peter Jason, Andrea Bendewald ... see more see more... , David Pasquesi , Dave Foley , Jenna Fischer , Fiona Gubelmann , Renee Albert , Jay Leggett , Paul Dooley , Mary Joan Negro

The directorial debut of actor/writer Mitch Rouse (Comedy Central's Strangers With Candy), Employee of the Month stars Matt Dillon as David Wells, a hapless guy whose day seems to be getting more and ... read more read more...more out of control. After getting his life straightened out with a job he loves at a bank and beautiful fiancée (Christina Applegate), David is convinced he's got it made. Unfortunately, things take a distinct turn for the worse when he is dumped and fired all in the same day. Enter David's best friend, Jack (Steve Zahn), an oddball who makes his living stealing from corpses. Jack is determined to help cheer up David, but when a bank robbery and a large sum of cash enter the picture, it begins to become apparent that the disastrous and madcap events have only just begun. Employee of the Month premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Flixster Users

57% liked it

10,220 ratings

Critics

11% liked it

9 critics

R, 1 hr. 37 min.

Directed by: Mitch Rouse

Release Date: January 17, 2004

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DVD Release Date: January 4, 2005

Stats: 647 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (647)


  • March 17, 2010
    Employee of the Month was quite an experience. Honestly, I only wanted to see it because Jenna Fischer was in it. I didn't really have any idea of what kind of movie it was, at all. Let's just say that this ended up being a hard film to like, for a few reasons.

    First of all, it... read more tries to be too clever. There are so many plot twists, that you never quite know where the movie is going. This could have been a good thing, but in this case, it ended up being an annoyance. The story and characters were twisted and spun to the point that it all made little sense. And speaking of the characters, most of them were completely impossible to like. Steve Zahn's character almost made me stop the movie several times, he was so annoying. There was basically a war in my mind between the possibility of having to suffer more of Steve Zahn, and the pleasure of getting to see more of Andrea Bendewald and Jenna Fischer (who sadly only had a very small role). The ladies won. Barely.

    Employee of the Month is the kind of movie that a very small portion of the audience will love, many will hate, and some will just shake their heads in bewilderment, forget it, and go watch something else. I'm a member of the latter group.
  • December 24, 2009
    Matt Dillon, Steve Zahn, Christina Applegate, Dave Foley, Andrea Bendewald

    Employee of the Month stars Matt Dillon as David Walsh, a hapless guy whose day seems to be getting more and more out of control. After getting his life straightened out with a job he loves at a bank an... read mored beautiful fiancée (Christina Applegate), David is convinced he's got it made. Unfortunately, things take a distinct turn for the worse when he is dumped and fired all in the same day. Enter David's best friend, Jack (Steve Zahn), an oddball who makes his living stealing from corpses. Jack is determined to help cheer up David, but when a bank robbery and a large sum of cash enter the picture, it begins to become apparent that the disastrous and madcap events have only just begun.
    The only thing that kept me watching this movie was Steve Zahn. Just a very slow movie for me. Didn't keep my attention. Acting was just OK. Steve Zahn was great as always though. The ending wasn't too bad. Definitely didn't expect it to end the way it did. So, the ending and Steve Zahn was the only good thing in this movie for me. Maybe watch it if you catch it on T.V. I don't even think it's worth the rental.
  • March 29, 2009
    Pretty entertaining, caught this one on TV one day. It actually didn't catch hold of my attention until the end which was ridiculous but great at the same time.
  • July 31, 2008
    A mildly entertaining film about a guy who loses everything, a job and a beautiful girl, in just one day.

    Brings nothing new to the genre and in the end it just delivers twists after twists that it drowns in its own ingenuity.

    The acting is pretty average but Steve Zahn is alw... read moreays annoyingly funny to look at.

    If you're waiting for another 'Falling Down' prepare to be disappointed. This is more like 'Wild Things' without the hot lesbian chicks...
  • December 6, 2007
    This movie would have been rubbish if not for Steve Zahn, who did a lot to save it from itself. It was fairly staright forward and enjoyable for most of the way, but then it started taking a turn for the worse near the end, then another, and then another. It was trying like hell ... read moreto be Wild Things near the end, which put me off. This was so promising. I wish they hadn't fired the screenwriter before the end. Or made it seem that way.
  • August 25, 2007
    Fantastic ending. Couldn't have gone better in my mind. :)
  • February 6, 2007
    I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Matt Dillon just gets better and better with age. And I do believe that Christina Applegate will escape the child-star syndrome. Never look at her the same way again, I'm telling you.

    Paul Dooley plays fathers -- all kinds of fat

    ... read morehers -- exceptionally. Compare his dad here with his dad in Breaking Away. Amazing.
  • October 15, 2008
    'Employee of the Month' Gets Pink-Slipped

    Contrived, smug, and mostly unbelievable caper/thriller that tries to be too slick and clever for its own good. Matt Dillon must've had deja vu of Wild Things with the multiple surprise (and ridiculous) twist endings.
  • September 3, 2007
    Details the unraveling of a relationship and a person
  • July 18, 2007
    I was surprised what this movie turned out to be. I watched it because the cover made me take notice and it has Steve Zahn in it, his characters are usually good. Has some nice quotes in it too; a nice little movie even if the ending is a little cliched.

Critic Reviews


Mark Palermo
March 15, 2007
Mark Palermo, Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Anyone repelled by the dating quota enforcement of movies like Failure to Launch should at least recognize virtue in Employee of the Month's dismissal of ranked social leagues.

Joseph Proimakis
January 14, 2007
Joseph Proimakis, Movies for the Masses

full review in Greek Full Review

Jim Lane
October 13, 2006
Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review

...we already have a Johnny Knoxville, thank you very much. Full Review

Pablo Villaca
January 6, 2005
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena

Zahn irrita com seu histrionismo, mas Dillon é carismático como sempre. Pena que a trama não se sustente e o diretor exagere no desespero para provar que tem algum talento.

Scott Weinberg
January 27, 2004
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

...feels a whole lot like watching three hard-working actors who are feverishly trying to extricate one another from an entire planet made of quicksand. Full Review

Eric D. Snider
January 24, 2004
Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com

It is bad enough that it's a bad comedy for most of its running time. It adds insult to injury when, in its last act, is also becomes a bad heist movie. Full Review

January 21, 2004
Hollywood Reporter

No review available.

Christopher Null
February 8, 2007
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

Click to read the article Full Review

December 6, 2005
Film Threat

Click to read the article Full Review

January 20, 2004
Film Threat

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Employee of the Month Trivia


  • In The Movie Employee Of The Month, Who Does Dane Cook Live With?  Answer »
  • in which movie is the store called SUPER CLUB?  Answer »
  • In the film " Employee of the month" When they were in their secret hideout what was the back wall made out of ?  Answer »
  • In the movie "Employee of the Month", How many times straight is Vince (Dax Sheppard)trying to win Employee of the month?  Answer »

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