Movie Review: Get a Job

Have you heard of a movie called Get a Job? No? Until recently my answer was the same thing. It is a movie that was made a few years ago but was then relegated to the shelf until they could figure out what to do with it. You would think that a movie that has cast including Anna Kendrick, Bryan Cranston, Miles Teller, Allison Brie, Marcia Gay Harden, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and John C. McGinley, would be an easy sell. The problem is that if the movie is not all that good, it doesn’t matter how good the cast is, it can be a tough sell. Of course it doesn’t help that one of the stars has said she didn’t think it would ever be released.



Get a Job was made, at best guess, back in 2012 and has sat around until now to see the light of day. It was directed by Dylan Kidd who made a bit of a splash back in 2002 with Roger Dodger. The screenplay was the work of Kyle Pennekamp and Scott Turpel, it is their only credit. Sadly, this movie just feels rather pedestrian and dull. Despite the solid cast, this feels more like a condensed pilot for a television show.

Miles Teller and Anna Kendrick star as Will and Jillian, a young couple that are graduating college and looking to make a splash in the workforce. Of course, things do not go as planner and we follow Will as he ends up in a string of odd jobs that he clearly does not wish to have. At the same time we get to watch his father (Cranston) and various stoner pals also trying to track down work.

I don’t really know what to say about this. The whole thing feels flat and uninspired. Despite being the story of Will and Jillian, it kept pulling in other directions with the supporting cast and never gained any real speed. It meanders along splitting time amongst its rather dull cast. It is all about going nowhere fast. It seeks to offer insight into being young and navigating the job market and trying to keep your enthusiasm and creativity, but it just seems to be spinning its wheels, never really getting interesting.

Get a Job is a movie that should be better than it is. The cast is solid, the idea is not bad, but the execution just never goes anywhere. It does feel more like an idea designed to be a situational comedy on network television. As a movie it is content to play towards the middle rather than do anything interesting.

Not Recommended.