Best big-screen part-time jobs of 2008
January 6, 2009 by Rick
Filed under Employment News
WALL-E wins Employee of the Year
Part-time jobs aren’t always the most glamorous gigs. Sometimes you have to clean deep fryers. Sometimes you have to change motor oil. And occasionally, you need to use that emergency change of clothes you keep in the trunk of your car.
But on a Hollywood backlot, even the most grueling jobs take on the shine of the silver screen. It’s time to honor these part-time jobs in film, glamorous or otherwise. We should probably call these awards something catchy that has to do with part-time jobs, right? Maybe the “Parties”? And you know what comes after the Parties, right? The after-parties.
Here are the best part-time jobs from the movies of 2008:
1. “WALL-E” – Trash collector
It seems like an awful job, even for a robot: Pick up garbage in a post-apocalyptic-ish Big Apple, squash it into compact rubbish squares, repeat for 700 years. But WALL-E loves it. Listening to show tunes helps the centuries fly by. Of course, that’s before he finds love…
2. “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” – Server/host
It seems Jonah Hill is in every movie these days. And we’re fine with that. The bespectacled, fro’d-out 20-something made us laugh in “Knocked Up” and “Superbad.” In “Sarah Marshall,” he tries on restaurant jobs in a posh Hawaiian resort and ends up stalking a British rock star. Unfortunately, he doesn’t even get an autograph.
3. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – Deckhand
Everyone working with Benjamin Button wonders how a wrinkled old man can keep up with the rigors of working on a fishing boat. It’s because he’s Father Time’s cruel joke; under those aching bones is a spry teenager.
4. “Sex & the City” – Shoe salesperson
OK, we won’t admit to seeing the four cosmo-sipping NYC socialites’ big-screen debut. But we’re guessing that at some point, somewhere, they buy shoes. And someone has to sell them.
5. “Don’t Mess with the Zohan” – Hairdresser
Adam Sandler’s role as an ex-Israeli Special Forces soldier turned NYC hairdresser can inspire all of us to follow our dreams, from the tank commander who wants to be a pedicurist to the kick boxer who longs to work as a ballet instructor.
Want to nominate another big-screen job for a Partie? Drop us a line and state your case!
