| Employee of the Month | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Mitch Rouse |
| Produced by | Tony Nunan Mark Curcio Cathy Schulman Bob Yari |
| Written by | Mitch Rouse (screenplay), Jay Leggett (screenplay) |
| Starring | Matt Dillon Steve Zahn Christina Applegate Andrea Bendewald |
| Distributed by | DEJ Productions |
| Release date(s) | January 17, 2004 (Sundance Film Festival) |
| Running time | 97 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Employee of the Month is a 2004 American black comedy starring Matt Dillon and Christina Applegate.
David Walsh (Dillon) is a bank employee whose day begins badly when he gets fired from his dream job and dumped by his fiancée Sara Goodwin (Applegate) the day after their engagement party is crashed by his best friend, Jack (Steve Zahn). Jack tries to tell him it's for the best, that David was headed down the wrong path, and has a hooker show up at his apartment to console him, only for her to steal his car. The next day, David goes back to the bank with a gun in his waistband. He surreptitiously makes his way into his previous boss' office, where he pulls out the gun and threatens to end his life. Though intimidated, the boss calls him out and Walsh, not wanting blood on his hands, pistol-whips him, leaving his office only to find the bank being robbed.
A sequence shows him killing the robbers single-handedly, but this was shown to be a daydream and he gets down. When one of the robbers take his co-worker Wendy (Andrea Bendewald), he shoots him and saves her, but is shot and tackled into the getaway vehicle before they make their escape.
A montage shows various people's reactions after the incident, including his ex-fiancée, who is crying uncontrollably. It then shows a burning van, with a reporter stating that following dental records, it was proven to be Walsh's body. This turns into a complex series of twists; the robbery was part of a two-year plan to erase David's identity and leave him and his friends filthy rich. Dave, Jack, Wendy, and Eric (Sara's dentist, who is revealed to have driven the getaway vehicle and falsified dental records for the corpse in the van) meet up in a motel room, prepared to divide their earnings and part ways. When Wendy leaves the room, Dave kills Jack (who scarred David's face and torso extensively in a childhood accident, and who he held a secret hatred for all their lives). Wendy kills Dave and runs off with the money to pick up Sara (who'd stopped by Eric's office, killing him and taking his share) with whom she's involved in a lesbian relationship. After the credits, Sarah and Wendy's car is shown to be hit by a bus, killing them both.