CORPORATE ANIMALS
US, 2019, 86 minutes, Colour.
Demi Moore, Jessica Williams, Ed Helms, Karan Soni, Dan Bakkedahl, IsiahI Whitlock Jr.
Directed by Patrick Brice.
A black comedy about a quite ruthless CEO taking her staff on an expedition to New Mexico, caving, in order to build up morale and teamwork. Reactions have been quite mixed. Many audiences found the film unfunny and not making much sense. Other audiences saw it as clever satire.
The screenplay assembles the group, some willing, some unwilling, to go on the team-building expedition. Demi Moore plays Lucy, the official in charge. One of the features of the company is edible cutlery, Lucy laying claim to the invention, but it had come from other members of the staff. Ed Helms has a brief role as the organiser. A range of comic character actors fill out the rest of the staff, eight in all.
The film spends some time in delineating each of the characters, their interactions and roles in the staff, the relationship with Lucy.
When they descend into the caves, there is a collapse and they are trapped for nine days, each day being signalled on the screen. However, the Ed Helms character is crushed in the collapse – and becomes the subject of discussion about whether he should be eaten or not, memories of the football team in the Andes and their dilemma (as featured in the film, Alive). Other than the body, there is no food. There is no water. It is uncertain whether anyone knows that they are there and have been trapped.
There is a great deal of bickering in the dialogue. Some are very serious about the situation. Others treat the matter with comedy and irony. The very earnest Freddie (Karan Soni) is given much of the dialogue, about his relationship with Lucy, her sexual domination, his being responsible for the invention, his challenging her yet his ingrained loyalty to her.
Eventually, a decision is made to use the lantern available for a group to climb through the tunnels to try to find an exit. They find water and fish but becomes sick. And, as they continue the crawling, they arrive back in the original cave.
At the end, there are many confrontations with Lucy, she saying how she chose them and fostered their careers, mentoring them, their rebelling against her. She is pushed, collapses, and the group then put their energies into moving a boulder which then collapses on her. In the meantime, they hear drilling and they are rescued.
The final black comedy is in the press conference from the whole group, their being partly honest, their covering up the death of Lucy, and trying to allot blame – eventually to the rescuers for shifting the stone and the boulder which killed Lucy.
The film was directed by Patrick Brice (The Overnight, Creep, Creep 2). Comparisons can be made with another feature on corporate teambuilding, White Mile, with Alan Alda taking his team rafting on the rapids.
