First prize is a Cadillac El Dorado, anyoby wanna see second prize? Second prize is a set of stake knives. Third prize is you're fired.
Having worked in the sales world for a number years during my life, one movie is something most all top sales people know, or at least recognize: Glengarry Glen Ross, a 1992 drama by David Mamet from his 1984 Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning play of the same name, directed by James Foley.
The story depicts two days of a real estate office in Chicago, after an announcement that after a week, all but the two top salesmen after the week will be fired.
Most of the salesmen in the office are down on their luck, with Ricky Roma, played by Al Pacino, being the only one closing deals with his smooth talk with a little hint of bullshit.
Other characters include Jack Lemmon's fantastic portrayal of Shelley Levine, an old school type sleazy salesman, who used to be good, but can't keep up with the times since the buyers have changed from since his heyday; Dave Moss, played by Ed Harris, who is a typical salesman met in all sales office's across the world who blames everybody but himself for his lack of success; and Alan Arin's George Aaronow, who is an insecure nice guy who clearly doesn't belong in the cutthroat world of the sales business.
Kevin Spacey plays their boss John Williamson, who got his job through nepotism, and doesn't seem to be very good at it. There is continuous tension between Williamson and his employees, with the employees feeling that they are the ones going out on the sits, and Williamson has no clue what it's like to be on the field.
Williamson pays them no mind, and obviously despises the people working under him.
A major theme of the movie is introduced early on when the unlucky salesmen receive the announcement that due to their lack of success, not only will most of them be fired after a week, they will not get their hands on the "premium leads", because it is felt that wasting the good leads on bad salesmen would be throwing them away. Only Roma is entitled to the good leads since his sales are above a certain mark.
This is a rough reality in the sales world, and can truly be applied to life in general: when everything's going well, you get more things and more success, but when you fall below a certain mark, you're dirt.
It's an interesting paradox where the good salesmen get the easier contacts, whereas those doing worse are awarded with shit that even the good salesmen could not close.
And this isn't sour grapes, I've always been really good at doing sales, it's just an observation of reality.
Glengarry Glen Ross is a very different kind of movie in the sense that very little happens in it.
The plot, the little that there is, is very bare bones, and the movie is mostly dialogue. But man is the dialogue great. David Mamet has always been great with dialogue, and I feel that Glen Ross is where he really nails it.
Mamet has this way of leaving in errors that would happen in everyday, normal dialogue between real people. The stuff that the people say is not too controlled, and it gives the dialogue a very unique, organic feel.
The other thing he is known for is the profanity.
And there's lots of it in Glengarry Glen Ross.
Mamet has profanity down to an art form, and a science, as it's not just cursing for the sake of cursing, but there's style and beauty behind it.
Coming from the sales world, I can attest to the fact that profanity of this kind does take place behind the scenes. It's a brutal world.
And that's what Glengarry Glen Ross is: a depiction of a brutal world, filled with desperation, lies, anguish and hopelessness. Few succeed and the rest are doomed to fail.
Like it says in the title, I'm not a movie guy, but this movie is one that I always come back to. Very little takes place, but at the same time so much takes place. The bad weather that takes place for the duration of the movie, the depressing atmosphere in the sales office, the distrust between the employees, the boss who doesn't give two shits about them.
And of course the brilliant performances of the all star cast.
You owe it to yourself to check out Glengarry Glen Ross. And not just check it out, but to really ponder the movie. If you give it a chance, it can give you a lot to think about.
I know it gave me.