Get a Job – Film Review

Get a Job, a film directed by Dylan Kidd and written by Kyle Pennekamp and Scott Turpel, ostensibly seeks to blend comedy and commentary, taking aim at the post-college job market hustle and the millennial quest for identity and purpose in a recession-wracked America. However, what might have been a sharp, relatable satire or a heartwarming dramedy stumbles awkwardly through both ambitions, ultimately delivering neither the biting social commentary nor the earnest emotional resonance it teases.

At its core, Get a Job presents a promising premise: Will Davis (Miles Teller), alongside his girlfriend, Jillian Stewart (Anna Kendrick), and a group of friends, grapples with the jarring transition from college to the real world, facing the harsh realities of underemployment, job hunting, and adulting in the 21st century. The film is set against the backdrop of the Great Recession, aiming to resonate with young adults navigating the disappointments and disillusionments of entering the workforce. However, the execution leaves much to be desired, missing the opportunity to meaningfully explore its themes.

The film’s ensemble cast is among its few strengths, boasting talent like Teller, Kendrick, Bryan Cranston, and Alison Brie. These actors, known for their charismatic screen presences and range, do their best with the material they are given. Miles Teller’s everyman charm partially offsets his character’s lack of depth, and Bryan Cranston, who plays Will’s father, Roger Davis, brings a nuanced portrayal of an older generation also affected by economic instability. Yet, despite the efforts of its capable cast, the script fails to leverage their strengths, resulting in performances that feel wasted on one-dimensional characters and a narrative that struggles to find its footing.

Get a Job attempts to navigate the line between comedy and drama but fails to strike a harmonious balance, resulting in a tonally inconsistent film that cannot decide what it wants to be. The writing oscillates between attempts at satire and slapstick comedy, neither of which lands effectively, undermining any genuine commentary on the plight of young adults in the job market. Scenes intended to be humorous often come off as forced or in poor taste, detracting from the empathy we should feel for the characters’ situations.

Moreover, the film squanders the opportunity to explore its thematic potential deeply. The struggles of job searching, the disillusionment with the promised rewards of higher education, and the realities of compromising one’s dreams are all touched upon but never developed into a coherent or compelling narrative. The film instead veers into cliched territory, resorting to oversimplified resolutions and superficial critiques of corporate culture, which fail to resonate or offer insight.

Dylan Kidd, who showed promise with earlier works like Roger Dodger, seems to struggle with the material here. The direction lacks the necessary vision to elevate the script’s weaker aspects, resulting in a film that feels aimless and disjointed. The cinematography, while competent, does nothing to enhance the storytelling, opting for a straightforward, unimaginative approach that mirrors the film’s overall lack of originality and depth.

The potential for Get a Job to comment meaningfully on the anxieties and realities facing young adults in a turbulent job market is its most tragic failure. Rather than providing insightful observations or engaging with its themes in a thoughtful way, the film opts for easy laughs and contrived situations. The deeper issues at play – economic disparity, the gig economy, the erosion of job security – are acknowledged but never tackled with the seriousness or nuance they deserve. The result is a movie that feels not only irrelevant but somewhat tone-deaf to the very audience it seeks to portray.

Get a Job is a film that promises more than it delivers, a superficial take on what could have been a rich, poignant exploration of millennial malaise and the search for meaning in a precarious economic landscape. While the cast does its best to bring life to the lackluster script, their performances are not enough to save the film from its myriad shortcomings. In trying to be both a comedy and a drama, it succeeds at being neither, resulting in a forgettable movie that fails to capture the essence of its intended critique. It is a reminder that good intentions and a relatable premise are not enough in the absence of depth, coherence, and genuine insight.