Helping Employee Of The Month achieve all its success is Douieb’s performance. She’s perfectly cast as the unassuming, too quiet woman who can’t even ask for a raise without stammering. In a telling scene, shortly after Patrick dies, the phone rings. Melody pleads with Inès not to answer, but she does anyway and gives perfect customer service. She then dresses down Melody, telling her, in essence, that the customer always comes first, no matter the situation. The actress nails the chaos and intensity of the moment while still being funny. And while their characters are more one-note by design, the entire supporting cast is very humorous and fun as well.
“…get ready to laugh until your sides hurt.”
But not everything works here, though all of these issues are minor, odd, and translation-based. Melody asks Patrick to “sign her convention.” What? Okay, so convention can mean agreement, though, in reality, it hasn’t been used in that way in some 10,000 years. Plus, an agreement for what exactly? Presumably, within context, it’s meant to be her work contract, as she’s the new hire and needs her paperwork finished. But an agreement and a contract are not one and the same, so even then, “convention” proves just an odd choice. While one can figure out what is meant, the film does have a few moments like this. Scenes where the subtitled words are just slightly off, somewhat confusing, momentarily taking audiences out of what is otherwise a very amusing, enjoyable affair (of course, if one is watching this in its original French or dubbed, this won’t be a problem).
Employee Of The Month ratchets up the zany antics into a thrilling and hilarious conclusion. By the end, the point the filmmakers are driving home is well made and never feels didactic. The cast is great, and the ending is pitch-perfect. So get ready to laugh until your sides hurt.
Employee Of The Month screened at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival.
"…ratchets up the zany antics into a thrilling and hilarious conclusion."
