Film Review: Corporate Animals Is Savagely Funny!
In a world that grows evermore corrupt, how protective and even aggrandizing the average person is to corporations feels alarming.
It is like praising a thief that just robbed you for being exceptionally good at stealing. Yes, we discuss the elusive “rich guy” stealing from the poor, but most films and tv shows, especially reality shows, portray rich or upper middle class lives. The “working man” is saved moreso for comedy, a la Corporate Animals.
Why is that? Why is it that, most of the time, when you hear about working people/characters, it is for a sitcom? Directed by Patrick Brice and written by Sam Bain, Corporate Animals is a testament to how the wealthy, quite literally, see the poor as a joke; using them as the “butt” for their “comical” intrigues and dark fantasies. Enter Demi Moore as Lucy Vanderton: the quintessential boss of The New Age business. A woman trying to appear and promote mindfulness while preferring mindlessness from her employees. Moore shines as an embodiment of modern businesses hypocrisies. At the end of the day, the sole goal of a business is profit and prestige, which is why she could care less about her workers. As Moore’s Lucy manipulates and molds her “corporate animals” in an office retreat gone really wrong, we see that the real goal of business if survival.
CORPORATE ANIMALS Official Trailer (2019) Demi Moore, Ed Helms Movie HD
Corporate Animals could have been another notch to office comedies; 8 tired, blue-collar employees trying to “appease” the boss and not let their personal miseries sink them in. Yet, when their retreat leads them to being locked for days under a cave, the film summons a surprising, distinct horror element: cannibalism. At the heart of comedy is the ability to laugh at tragedy. It is clear that Bain and Brice use cannibalism to call out “worker to worker” dynamics. Yes, Demi Moore’s Lucy is horrible and fake, but why do her employees turn on each other just to gain “the promotion” that never comes. For this, Jessica Williams’ Jess and Karan Soni’s Freddie plays Lucy’s assistants: quick to turn on each other only to realize their boss turns on everyone.
Soni and Williams’ feel like the solid ground of Corporate Animals. They bring a steady heart to a film that literally loses its mind in the best way. Isiah Whitlock Jr.’s Derek, Calum Worthy’s Aidan, Nasim Pedrad’s Suzy, and Dan Bakkedahl’s Billy are all fantastic and able to transfer the craziness of this film into comedy. Honestly…. CANNIBALISM! When was the last time that topic came up on film? Zombies do not count! Hence, through characters’ slow progression into both figurative and literal biting at each other, Bain and Brice are able to show that, yes, the boss always sucks, but co-workers are not much better representative of humaneness. Corporate Animals Comes Out On September 20.
