The Smell of Success (2009)

A comedy about manure salesmen in 1960s heartland America.

Director:

Michael Polish

Writers:

Mark Polish, Michael Polish

Stars:

Billy Bob Thornton, Téa Leoni, Mark Polish

Cast

Credited cast:
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Patrick
Téa Leoni	...	Rosemary Rose
Mark Polish	...	Thaddeus Young
Ed Helms	...	Chet Pigford
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Jimmy St. James
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Cleveland Clod
Frances Conroy	...	Agnes May
Richard Edson	...	Nelly the Nose
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Aria Alpert	...	Mrs. Smith
Sean Andrews	...	Miracle Worker
Michael Arturo	...	Hot Dog Vendor
Patrick Bauchau	...	Mr. Rose
Brooke Baumer	...	Housewife #5
Christian Eric Billings	...	Miracle Worker
Brent Briscoe	...	Shotgun Farmer

Storyline

When a tragic accident ends the life of Mr. Rose, the genius behind Rose's Manure Company, the livelihood of its loyal fleet of salesmen threatens to go, as they say, into the toilet. Enter estranged daughter Rosemary, a high-class- cosmetics salesgirl, who steps in to take control. She is not sure she has a nose for the family business, but she is determined to make foul into profit. Little does she know that a ruthless, slick-talking fertilizer rep is plotting a takeover. Whether she likes it or not, she must trust her top salesman, Patrick Fitzpatrick, to devise a plan to regain Rose's rightful position on top of the heap.

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Taglines:

Don't Hold Your Breath!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, language and a drug situation

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Manure

Filming Locations:

Melody Ranch - 24715 Oak Creek Avenue, Newhall, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,600,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Initiate Productions, Stander Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

not bad, defiantly rent first cause it's an acquired taste,

A great subtle, somewhat dry and simple comedy that never takes itself seriously. It follows a group of manure salesman in the 1960s who find themselves in competition with a ridiculously over the top company. This movie is certainly not one of the best movies I've seen but it is entertaining and a good one to pick up from the library or to watch on Netflix.

The acting is excellent, the cinematography is pleasantly artsy, the dialogue is non-stop manure puns with some alright other jokes and it's a good length for the kind of movie that it is. Billy Bob Thornton, Tea Leoni and Ed Helms are perfect leads. The soundtrack is pretty great. My only complaints is that it almost seems unorganized because so many weird and random things are happening all the time that sometimes it's hard to fully grasp why and what just happened.

Language is fairly clean, no sex, nudity or gore. Just a lot of poop jokes and strange events about a company trying to stay afloat and sell manure.