The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard

Starring: Jeremy Piven, Ving Rhames, James Brolin, David Koechner, Kathryn Hahn, Ed Helms, Jordana Spiro, Ken Jeong, Rob Riggle, Alan Thicke, Craig Robinson, Will Ferrell (uncredited)
Directed by: Neal Brennan
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
2009

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: With his car dealership facing bankruptcy, the owner (James Brolin) decides to bring in a hired gun- Don "The Goods" Ready (Jeremy Piven) and his team of salespeople (Ving Rhames, Kathryn Hahn, David Koechner) to quickly and unconventionally sell as many cars as possible.

Review:

Tim: The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard is a movie that is far too scattered, as the filmmakers threw everything and the kitchen sink into the mix here. It is almost stunning how much is thrown into this movie, from the extensive cast, a shotgun approach to comedy, and unexpected events- this movie is an example of bigger is not always better, and more is sometimes too much. I didn't like this movie because it's not particularly funny, and there is just too much going on.

I'll start with the cast, which almost feels like a joke because of how massive it is- Jeremy Piven stars as Don "The Goods" Ready, and he does a mostly good job. Piven picked this role because it played perfectly to his strengths. However, there wasn't much room for his to succeed here, and he makes only the faintest of impacts on this film. Ving Rhames was decent, but I wondered why he was here. He didn't get the chance to do much at all. James Brolin was an interesting choice, and he brought a bit of class to the film. David Koechner actually did a pretty good job, and I laughed at him a number of times throughout the film. Ed Helms was mostly wasted, but his man band practice scene was one of the film's better ones. I actually enjoyed Jordana Spiro's performance here. I haven't seen her much elsewhere, but she brought charisma to the role. Ken Jeong was decent, but I'm worried we're going overboard on including him in every comedy on the big and small screen. Rob Riggle is stupid, but does account for a few laughs. I thought he worked well with Kathryn Hahn, who worked because she embraced the ridiculousness of her character. Alan Thicke's presence was welcome, but felt like a last minute addition. I loved seeing Craig Robinson, but again, aside from a few good moments, he was mostly wasted here. Finally, I have to comment on the uncredited role of Will Ferrell. I am not entirely sure how I feel about him popping up in movies where he didn't need to be, but I have to admit that some of the film's funniest moments came with him on screen. Whew, see what I mean about this cast?

As I've mentioned, The Goods throws up so many jokes that a few of them are bound to stick. However, they don't make up for the multitude of lame, stale jokes that mostly pervade every aspect of this movie. While I have to admit that this is a stupid, stupid movie, I also didn't hate the viewing experience. It was pleasant in a guilty sort of way. Still, this comedy needed to be much funnier, and it needed to be infinitely more focused. There are so many good comedies coming out these days that this film simply had no excuse for not living up to its potential.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 4.5


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