Focus takes a stab at corporate culture

Corporate culture’s a drag. Or at least that’s what movies tell me, as I can’t say I have a lot of experience in the area of working nine to five, fixing up earnings reports, or subjecting my work to focus groups (hint: that’s this movie) while annoying co-workers conspire against me. Focus, a local Vancouver production — and not the Will Smith movie — is the latest comedy that looks to skewer the corporate workplace.

Josh Blacker (also credited with the story and as a producer) plays Troy, an executive at Grant Industries. Grant Industries is apparently the most versatile company in the world as they produce everything from juicers to kitty litter to backpacks, and Troy seems to be in charge of the ideas. His main job appears to developing pitches for focus groups.

However, Troy is in the hot seat after his latest invention — suntan lotion for dogs — gave the dogs skin cancer. He needs his latest product Roost, an automated kitchen device, to test well, or he’ll lose his job.

Up against him is Conlee (Ryan Beil), an unlikable coworker gunning for his job; the boss’ son-in-law (Writer and director Christopher Young), an incompetent presenter for his focus group; and a focus group that really doesn’t seem to like the product. It’s a complicated relationship I suppose.

The movie isn’t that funny. Most of the jokes fall flat. The dialogue tries to convince you these characters are wacky, but they are mostly forgettable. We’re told various times that Troy is a control freak and it’s chalked up to how intense he is, but the performance doesn’t really sell it. Blacker is not a particularly charismatic lead.

With that being said, the plot seems to work. By the end of the movie you are rooting for Troy — I suppose I wasn’t laughing too much, but I’d rather see the character succeed (in some bad movies I become so fed up with a character, I begin to root against them).

Beil gives the best performance of the movie as Conlee. He’s the one character that actually lives up to the hype created by the dialogue. He seems vile and unlikable, and the actor seems to be having some fun with the character. Young also has his moments as Will, playing the lovable idiot character.

William B. Davis — the Cigarette Smoking Man from the X-Files — has a fun cameo at the end as Mr. Grant, the boss of Grant Industries.

One problem with the plot is that the movie focuses more on Conlee plotting against Troy and Will messing up the presentation, when the movie might have been better off focusing on the focus group by itself. Focus groups aren’t the topic of many movies, and this movie had a chance to satirize something we don’t see too often in cinema. Instead it positions itself as a vehicle for a plot to do with a sabotaging idiot.

Overall, I didn’t find it too funny. But I don’t find Big Bang Theory funny either, and a lot of people seem to. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this movie, but if I was flipping through channels and this film popped up, I’d probably keep it on.