The screenwriter of "The Good Girl," "The School of Rock" and his directorial debut, last year's "Year of the Dog," will be proud to know that his influence has rubbed off on Steven Conrad. Debut feature director Conrad has made a movie, "The Promotion," that feels like a Mike White movie in every way. The awkward, uncomfortable humor. The mild, satirical stabs at mundane, working-class life. The immensely flawed characters who are always on the verge of turning into complete sociopaths. Heck, even "Good Girl" cast member John C. Reilly is in it.

"Promotion" feels like such a Mike White movie, you wonder if White is using Steven Conrad as a pseudonym. But, as it turns out, Conrad is a real person -- he has written the scripts for "The Weather Man," "The Pursuit of Happyness" and the much-talked-about meta-movie "Chad Schmidt," about an actor who bears an uncanny resemblance to Brad Pitt. (The movie is finally set to drop in 2010, with Pitt starring.)

As for this movie, we have Seann William Scott, mostly looking pained, as the hapless assistant manager of a Chicago supermarket. He keeps a cordial grin locked on his face, even when he knows his job consists of getting zero respect from co-workers, customers and practically everybody else. He aspires to become the manager of a new, plus-size supermarket opening up, so he and his wife (Jenna Fischer, doing what she can with the little she's given) can afford a new house. Unfortunately, he gets some competition when a Canadian (Reilly, playing it goofy, gullible and genteel) comes to town and becomes his market's newest assistant manager.

Instead of a cunning, scheming opponent, Reilly's character turns out to be just as much of a desperate, sympathetic sad sack as Scott's character. A former drug addict and motorcycle gang member, he comes to the States with his Scottish wife (Lili Taylor, if you can believe that!), looking for a fresh start. He even listens to personalized motivational tapes (his own name inserted in the speaker's inspirational affirmations) on his Walkman.

I should point out that since "Promotion" most resembles a Mike White movie, it's also as problematic as a Mike White movie. "Promotion" does have a worthy, durable premise: two schmoes of near-exact motives going after a job they don't really want, if only to get some respect and security out of the deal.

And Conrad does show off a sharp, angsty flair, as he visualizes supermarkets as not only a temple of bland, pacifying consumerism (not since "One Hour Photo" have rows of food items have looked more generically abysmal), but a neutral land of chaos and anarchy. Both Scott and Reilly's characters have to deal with foul-mouthed juveniles in the parking lot, unruly customers inside the store and employees who mostly goof off when they're not goofing on them.

And yet, "Promotion" appears to be a movie that, much like the main characters, lacks the confidence to do its job. Conrad's script relies on scattershot gags, most of them quirky and eccentric for the sake of being quirky and eccentric. The movie also flirts with becoming a Larry David-style cringefest. But Conrad never completely gives in to the dark side.

You get a sense that Conrad wanted to go all bitterly funny with "Promotion," showing how much of a grind it is being a working-class man in a culture that doesn't heroically revere these guys like it used to. But it seems certain powers that be -- let's call 'em Bob and Harvey -- wanted the movie to be more optimistic. (New scenes were reportedly shot last year with new characters, including Masi Oka of "Heroes" as a blunt realtor.)

As with most Weinstein-distributed movies I see, I would've loved to see the version of "The Promotion" that was conceived before those guys got their hands on it.

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