Eye Candy #87 - "The Goods"

The Goods: Just when you thought Jeremy Piven had outgrown “PCU”-type movies, he returns to form with “The Goods”. Set in the world of car sales, Piven is Don Ready, a superhuman car salesman/mercenary that forlorn dealerships hire to come in and save their businesses. He can sell ice water to Eskimos. He and his crack team of hitters (including Ving Rhames, David Koechner, and Kathryn Hahn) are on the road 51.5 weeks out of the year, staying at the same chain hotels (Hacienda Gardens), failing at relationships and normalcy. These are NOT normal dudes. Ben Selleck’s (James Brolin) dealership in Temecula, California, is one such ailing dealership. He brings in Ready and his crew to spearhead his Fourth of July sale so he can sell all 211 cars on his lot. Ready’s strategy includes strippers, Bo Bice’s brother Eric, and motivational speeches galore. And while he leads the sad sack gang of car salesmen at Selleck’s to greatness, he also questions his own choices and the lack of love in his life. “The Goods” is vulgar, crude, politically incorrect…and yet is easily one of the most quotable films in recent memory (personal fave: “I’m Christian…or whatever religion dominates the region I am working”). I laughed. A lot. Sure, I felt ashamed, but I still laughed. The cast does extremely well together, though some of them who are more than capable aren’t given a whole lot to do (Ken Jeong - the naked Asian guy from “The Hangover” and Tony Hale from “Arrested Development” are mostly just window dressing). We also get Jordana Spiro, Ed Helms, Alan Thicke (!!!), Will Ferrell (in an unaccredited role), and Rob Riggle as a 10 year old pituitary giant, Definitely not fine art, but yes, sadly, it is entertaining. Woodchuck sez, “Check it out.”