It’s only fitting that the new car comedy “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard” is made almost entirely from scraps scavenged from the lots of other R-rated romps.
Said parts just so happen to include some of today’s better comic sidekicks, including Kathryn Hahn, David Koechner and Jeremy Piven.
“Entourage’s” breakout star is front and center in “The Goods,” but Piven doesn’t have the goods to help him transition to a bona fide leading man.
Not here, at least.
“The Goods” roars out of the gate, establishing fast-talking Don Ready (Jeremy Piven) as the king of the hired gun car salesmen.
James Brolin, playing the genial owner of a dying auto dealership, calls in Don and his crack team when it seems like no one wants to buy a car from his ancient lot. It’s exactly the right gig for Don’s squad, which includes Ving Rhames, Hahn and Koechner.
Ready’s crew delivers, as always. But Don suddenly isn’t sure he wants to keep moving from town to town – especially after meeting the auto dealer’s comely daughter (Jordana Spiro).
Piven can nail the smooth talking salesman type in his sleep, but Kahn is particularly feisty here as the sexually aggressive member of Don’s group.
The dealership itself is another character on full display, a sad sack showroom littered with lost souls. But “The Goods” shows little interest in the inner workings of selling cars. It’s far more obsessed with easy jokes, like Brolin’s bizarre crush on Koechner and any number of “F” bombs scattered throughout the script.
Nor does the film tie into the current auto crisis, although the film’s production schedule could be to blame here. Who knew GM would be Obama Motors by the time of its release?
Ed Helms, so good playing it straight in “The Hangover,” goes aggressively after laughs here as a boy band, or rather man band wannabe. It’s one of several subplots not teased out to its comic potential.
Once the laughs subside, and they stall about two-thirds through the film, we’re left with Don realizing the error of his ways. Piven excels at exuding bravado, not life-changing lessons.
Still, “The Goods” delivers a few big laughs, from some silly sex sequences to a courtship between Hahn and a boy trapped in a man’s child (Rob Riggle).
You’re really hate yourself for laughing here.
Will Ferrell drops in for an extended cameo, but the character will do little to expunge the bad taste left by “Land of the Lost.”
“The Goods” is often lazy, but even sluggish screenwriting can click with the right comic performers. For a while that holds true for “The Goods,” but the vehicle runs out of gas well before the 90 minute mark.
(Photo: Brent Gage (David Koechner, left) and Don Ready (Jeremy Piven, right) are two of the best used-car salesmen in the business, in the comedy “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard.” Photo Credit: Sam Emerson. Copyright © 2009 by Paramount Vantage)
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