Get a Job — Blue Fairy Film Blog

It feels a little hypocritical to take digs at writer/director Dylan Kidd when I myself am a jobless post-collegiate millennial. Or perhaps, as someone who embodies these characters, I am the best critic of this long shelved narrative mess. I’ll cop to the former, if only to protect my thin skinned vanity. So here it is: this film is not good. It is only 76 minutes, it was made five years ago and then shelved until slipping onto streaming services, trying to stay undetected, and it shows. It’s unclear why this mess was made, or why it was released at all. Many insiders have asked why it wasn’t abandoned completely, at least for the sake of the careers of those in it, who have gone on to do bigger and better things. With that sparkling introduction, let’s delve into the problems with the tone deaf Get a Job.

I’m going to quickly acknowledge the overarching theme of this movie, to get it out of the way: Yes, participation awards exist, and yes, our generation may have been overly coddled compared to past generations, but that doesn’t mean we expect everything handed to us. Millennials are the most educated, most diverse, hardest working generation, and that’s not me saying that, it’s every study done in the past five years. I can send you links to TED talks, university studies, and multiple nonprofit websites if you want to read yourself. Moving on.

Trying to have a little self-awareness, I can say that I fit some of the stereotypes of this film, and with a humble attitude, I can also say I agree with some of this patronizing spoon-fed morality. That being said, this film still sucks. It teaches men that their emotions aren’t meant to be seen, that sexual harassment is a part of a work environment, and that our saddled debt is our own doing, not the makings of the financial crises and twenty years of economic instability thanks to our parents’ generation. Added to these detrimental issues, the characters suck. The humor is all gross and obscenely stupid. The cast is disadvantaged by the sloppy, insipid script, and completely bland plot. Nothing happens. They get jobs. They get fired. That’s it. I was bored just explaining that to you.

I feel so bad for the cast. Anna Kendrick is in this film, another in a long line of performances as the quirky yet adorable romantic lead, and for her part she does a great job. Miles Teller, who is always hit or miss, plays another smug arrogant bastard who gets his way by being a smug and arrogant bastard. Bryan Cranston (probably blackmailed into being in this) has an interesting turn as a salt of the earth father who wants his son to grow up, but needs his eventual help after he too is jobless. Up and comer Nicholas Braun and the always reliable Alison Brie may be touched by this horrible film, but it probably will just embarrass them. No matter what, no one comes out clean, and if you’re watching this for one of the cast members’ performances, go elsewhere. In short, beware of this cute looking generational comedy, which does for our generation what Mommie Dearest did for Joan Crawford.