The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
Release: 08.14.09
Rated R
1 hour, 30 minutes
Matinee
In Temecula, CA, Ben Selleck (James Brolin, Catch Me If You Can) watches as his family car dealership dies a slow death, due largely to his inept salesmen. With bank debts looming, Selleck enlists the help of master salesman, Don "The Goods" Ready (Jeremy Piven, PCU), to move some cars. Ready, along with his team Jibby (Ving Rhames, Idlewild), Babs (Kathryn Hahn, Step Brothers), and Brent Gage (David Koechner, Sex Drive), hop a flight to Temecula with the intent of selling 200 cars over the three-day Fourth of July weekend. However, Ready's fixation on closing the deal with Selleck's daughter, Ivy (Jordana Spiro, TV: Buffy the Vampire Slayer), throws him off his game.
Remember how last year's Step Brothers looked ridiculously stupid, but audiences just knew it had to be outrageously funny with Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly hamming it up? Well, where that Gary Sanchez Production repeatedly stumbled in its execution, The Goods never misses a beat. Piven is perfect as the smarmy, silver-tongued Ready; even his jeans-and-tie ensembles kick ass. Rhames' love-deficient Jibby, Koechner's loud-mouthed Brent, and Hahn's inappropriately lustful Babs steal the show from the remaining cast. The supporting roles for familiar actors such as Rob Riggle (The Hangover), Tony Hale (Because I Said So), Craig Robinson (Knocked Up) and Ken Jeong (Role Models) aren't even characters so much as punchlines for Ready & Company.
If any of the one-dimensional supporters deserves special recognition it's Charles Napier (Annapolis) who manhandles the role of Dick, the dickish salesman. The Goods has a few cameos, but one in particular is the end all be all. As much as I'd love to spoil it, I won't. Even though it's August, this may very well be my cameo of the year!
The Goods is the first theatrical film release for Chappelle's Show director Neil Brennan. Brennan proves that even without Dave, he can still make audiences laugh until their sides hurt. The script by relatively unknown writers Andy Stock and Rick Stempson follows only the semblance of a story. The absurd premise hangs on by the barest of threads and everyone involved knows it, but no one gives a damn because they're having so much fun. Ready even advises at one point, "don't overthink it."
Dirty Undies
Within the first three minutes, audiences are treated to gyrating naked women, thanks to Ready & Company's penchant for hotcakes and hotties. Definitely my kind of movie. From the onset, it's clear Don and the gang are lewd and vulgar pottymouths. Instead of being offended, the Sellecks and their employees are equally crass, which makes for some delightfully raunchy comedy.
The Money Shot
The Goods is a series of funny sketches loosely tied to events at a car dealership. Counting both theatrical and straight-to-DVD markets, there's no telling how many crude, nonsensical comedies in this vein are released every month. The Goods is that finely-tuned, mindless comedy amid the lot of lemons; it's a deal you can't pass up.
Just got back from this. Aside from the obvious Ferrell/McKay/Sanchez connection, I immediately thought of Step Brothers, in that I didn't find either to be terribly funny overall, but they each had a handful of genuinely funny moments that kept me from being bored.
ReplyDeleteNot great, not good, and not terrible - it falls somewhere in the "meh" category. Something about the cartoonishness of this one was too much for me, and a lot of the jokes just fell Flat.
This was a prime example of expectation-adjustment for me. The Goods trailers looked too hilarious and I assumed I'd be mildly entertained at best. Once there, I couldn't stop laughing. Vice versa, Step Brothers should have been hilarious and I went expecting to piss myself due to uncontrollable laughter. It was funny at times, but way more cartoonish and forced than The Goods.
ReplyDeleteReally, I'm just comparing two sides of the same coin. They both have their shining moments and their dumb-n-dull moments, my bar was just adjusted to different standards.
wiil watch when it's on starz or encore...or my computer for free, haha
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely not the type of movie for everyone, but you probably wouldn't feel cheated if you dropped a $1 for a cheap rent. :-)
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