Trying to be a raunchy and crude comedy in the vein of "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Knocked Up" and "The Hangover," the newest Paramount Vantage release, "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard," just manages to end up being raunchy and crude.
Directed by Neal Brennan (in his feature film debut, although he has helmed several episodes of the "Dave Chappell Show"), "The Goods" tells the story of a failing used car dealership in Temecula, CA. (I've actually been there) and the efforts of its owner, Ben Selleck (James Brolin) to save it by hiring a group of "mercenary" salespeople.
These include Brent Gage (David Koechner, "Taladega Nights," "SNL"), Jibby Newsome (Ving Rhames, "Mission Impossible"), Babs Merrick (Kathryn Hahn, "Step Brothers," "Revolutionary Road") and the leader, David "The Goods" Ready (Jeremy Piven, "Old School," "Smoking Aces").
Ready is cool, sure and super confident (he even talks a flight attendant into letting him smoke on board an airplane in flight). But beneath this calm exterior, he hides a deep and troubling secret. Ah, the plot complications of a wafer-thin story line.
The current sales staff is so inept, that one wonders why they even got into auto sales to begin with. There's a goofy Korean guy (Ken Jeong, Mr. Chow in "The Hangover"), a wimp (Tony Hale, Emmett Milbarge in the TV series, "Chuck") and an elderly racist who calls everyone a "queer" and punches out customers (Charles Napier, "Annapolis," "The Manchurian Candidate"). It's no wonder the place is going down the toilet.
By holding a special three-day July Fourth blowout sale, though, Ready hopes to sell every car on the lot and save Selleck's livelihood. His group then takes over, orders new TV spots made, sets up an Astro-Jump for the kiddies and brings in a DJ who refuses to take requests (Craig Robinson, "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," Darryl in "The Office").
The blitz seems to work and the amped-up staff sells 71 vehicles on the first day, but complications occur and soon the owner of a competing dealership (Alan Thicke, "Growing Pains") is trying to buy Selleck's lot. It seems that Thicke's son, Paxton (Ed Helms, "The Hangover," "The Office") - who is part of a boy band and is dating Selleck's daughter, Ivy (Jordana Spiro, P.J. Franklin in the cable series, "My Boys") - needs a big space to rehearse his group in (a used car lot?!)
Yes, there are F-Bombs aplenty, comic violence tossed about and the sex and sleaze are ratcheted up, but the film really only provides four or five solid laughs and a number of little guffaws.
A small amount of unnecessary pathos is injected and the subplots - Newsome wants to find true love with a stripper, Ready feels guilty about the "Kirkie" and Merrick is horny for a 10-year-old boy (in the body of Rob Riggle, "The Hangover") - are not amusing in the least, and the last one is downright uncomfortable.
One of the funniest sequences, however, concerns a crowd rioting when Eric Bice (brother of "American Idol" contestant, Bo Bice) fails to show up at a concert and Ready tries to take his place.
Basically an updated, dirty version of 1980's "Used Cars" (with Kurt Russell and Jack Warden) with little of the humanity or hilarity of that picture. Too bad there's no cash available for this clunker.
Directed by Neal Brennan (in his feature film debut, although he has helmed several episodes of the "Dave Chappell Show"), "The Goods" tells the story of a failing used car dealership in Temecula, CA. (I've actually been there) and the efforts of its owner, Ben Selleck (James Brolin) to save it by hiring a group of "mercenary" salespeople.
These include Brent Gage (David Koechner, "Taladega Nights," "SNL"), Jibby Newsome (Ving Rhames, "Mission Impossible"), Babs Merrick (Kathryn Hahn, "Step Brothers," "Revolutionary Road") and the leader, David "The Goods" Ready (Jeremy Piven, "Old School," "Smoking Aces").
Ready is cool, sure and super confident (he even talks a flight attendant into letting him smoke on board an airplane in flight). But beneath this calm exterior, he hides a deep and troubling secret. Ah, the plot complications of a wafer-thin story line.
The current sales staff is so inept, that one wonders why they even got into auto sales to begin with. There's a goofy Korean guy (Ken Jeong, Mr. Chow in "The Hangover"), a wimp (Tony Hale, Emmett Milbarge in the TV series, "Chuck") and an elderly racist who calls everyone a "queer" and punches out customers (Charles Napier, "Annapolis," "The Manchurian Candidate"). It's no wonder the place is going down the toilet.
By holding a special three-day July Fourth blowout sale, though, Ready hopes to sell every car on the lot and save Selleck's livelihood. His group then takes over, orders new TV spots made, sets up an Astro-Jump for the kiddies and brings in a DJ who refuses to take requests (Craig Robinson, "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," Darryl in "The Office").
The blitz seems to work and the amped-up staff sells 71 vehicles on the first day, but complications occur and soon the owner of a competing dealership (Alan Thicke, "Growing Pains") is trying to buy Selleck's lot. It seems that Thicke's son, Paxton (Ed Helms, "The Hangover," "The Office") - who is part of a boy band and is dating Selleck's daughter, Ivy (Jordana Spiro, P.J. Franklin in the cable series, "My Boys") - needs a big space to rehearse his group in (a used car lot?!)
Yes, there are F-Bombs aplenty, comic violence tossed about and the sex and sleaze are ratcheted up, but the film really only provides four or five solid laughs and a number of little guffaws.
A small amount of unnecessary pathos is injected and the subplots - Newsome wants to find true love with a stripper, Ready feels guilty about the "Kirkie" and Merrick is horny for a 10-year-old boy (in the body of Rob Riggle, "The Hangover") - are not amusing in the least, and the last one is downright uncomfortable.
One of the funniest sequences, however, concerns a crowd rioting when Eric Bice (brother of "American Idol" contestant, Bo Bice) fails to show up at a concert and Ready tries to take his place.
Basically an updated, dirty version of 1980's "Used Cars" (with Kurt Russell and Jack Warden) with little of the humanity or hilarity of that picture. Too bad there's no cash available for this clunker.