Millennials have
been called the “entitled generation,” carrying an air of arrogance and
expectation without the benefit of experience or hard work to back it up, and Get a Job is a cinematic enabler for
this infantile mentality. While it does address the egotism of modern college
graduates, the sycophantic screenplay from first-time writers Kyle Pennekamp
and Scott Turpel attempts to lay blame on the encouraging way that this
generation was raised, as though their shitty attitude were the fault of
supportive parents and participation trophies. But rather than following
through with this cynical game of finger-pointing to some actual social
commentary, these amateur screenwriters lazily resort to resolve it with a
mindless young adult wish-fulfillment fantasy. This movie is utter garbage,
made even worse by the talent that was wasted to make it.
Filmed four
years ago when most of these cast members were less in demand, the studio did
them a service by shelving it until the failure could do less damage to their
careers. Miles Teller has somehow become the poster child for characters so
arrogant that you want to pull them off the screen and backhand them, and the
character of Will is no exception. Will and his roommates (Nicholas Braun,
Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Brandon T. Jackson; who are all written like
rejects from a Judd Apatow film) graduate from college with the expectation
that a dream job be handed to them. It is unclear what Will even went to school
for, but like many millenials with Kim Kardashian as their sole role model, he
is convinced that being good at social media will be enough to secure him a
career. Somehow he manages to land a solid job with only a YouTube channel as
his experience, and then spends the rest of the film whining that he is not
creatively fulfilled by the absurdly undeserved opportunity. Spoiler alert: the
film ends with further fodder for fantasy when Will’s YouTube video lands him
enough fame to start his own production company, playing out like a contrived
fantasy for unemployed film student graduates.
If the plot void
of realism showing a teen rise to the success of being promoted to vice
president of his department before ungratefully throwing the opportunity away
isn’t obnoxious enough, Get a Job is
simultaneously full of racial and gender stereotypes. There is one token black
roommate, and the only other minorities represented are forced to play janitors
and pimps. Women have it even worse, presented as either vapid sex-pots who all
want to sleep with Will or nagging wenches unfairly giving him a hard time.
Some of the female characters switch between the two depending on the scene,
such as Will’s girlfriend (Anna Kendrick) who complains about his unemployment while
rewarding him with sex upon news of career advancement. Even the treatment of
Will’s cutthroat female boss (Marcia Gay Harden) is this insultingly reductive,
as she first coldheartedly fires many male employees while secretly sleeping
with the owner of the company as the explanation for her own success. The other
representation of women in the office is Tanya (Allison Brie), a nondescript
employee whose only running gag in the film is that she crudely and
inappropriately makes it clear to Will that she likes sex and would gladly sleep
with him. This is easily the worst film any of the female leads have been a
part of, and it is even more damaging being released during a time that they
are now successful enough to have a choice in what roles they choose to attach
themselves to.
Even the
addition of Bryan Cranston in the role of Roger Davis, Will’s recently laid off
father, is not enough to save this film, though his character is the only one
to inspire a modicum of sympathy. This storyline is also tainted with a sexist
subplot, as he withholds the news of his unemployment from his wife, which is
never resolved as Will’s mother completely vanishes from the film after a
single scene in the beginning of the film. Roger spends more screen time
receiving tips from a flirty barista than discussing the problems with his spouse,
which is still better than the career advice given to Will by a stripper
(Cameron Richardson) as he receives a lap dance.
Get a Job is
an insult to common sense, an irritant to basic decency. I watch dozens of bad films
every month, hundreds a year, but very few offend me as much as this one
managed to. The worst part about this film is not even the filmmaking from
director Dylan Kidd (Roger Dodger),
which is admittedly sloppy, but the misguided message and warped morality at
the center of every sequence. It is all the more offensive because of the
decent budget and all-star cast of talented actors. In other words, this film
is a fucking abomination that never should have left the shelf it has been on
for the last four years.
The Blu-ray offers a more polished
presentation of the horrendous film, which only serves as further disconnection
between efforts in filmmaking and the sickening decision to produce this
garbage screenplay in the first place. Also included is a Digital HD copy of
the film. Special features include outtakes, a featurette about the cast, and…
Oh, who gives a shit. Please, don’t see this film.
Entertainment Value:
5.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 0/10
Historical
Significance: 0/10
Special Features: 2/10
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