The Smell of Success (2009)

A comedy about manure salesmen in 1960s heartland America.

Director:

Michael Polish (as Larry Smith)

Writers:

Mark Polish, Michael Polish

Stars:

Billy Bob Thornton, Téa Leoni, Mark Polish

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Jon Gries	...	Early Dunchamp
Richard Edson	...	Nelly the Nose
D.W. Moffett	...	Agent Chestnut
Scott Michael Campbell	...	Mr. Diehl
Patrick Bauchau	...	Mr. Rose
Aria Alpert Adjani	...	Mrs. Smith (as Aria Alpert)
David A. Cooper	...	Miracle Worker #1
Erin O'Shaughnessy	...	Mrs. Diehl

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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Plot Keywords:

manure | salesman | female business owner | year 1963 | 

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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

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Agent Chestnut: [switches on recorder] Agent Chestnut, Federal Trade Commission interview. Please state your full name.
Patrick: Patrick Fitzpatrick.
Agent Chestnut: Mr. Fitzpatrick, were you aware of the financial difficulties at Rose's manure?
Patrick: No.
Agent Chestnut: Really? Because by all accounts and sales records, Mr. Rose considered *you* his Number 2. And you want me to believe Mr. Rose never mentioned it?
Patrick: Never.
Agent Chestnut: Well, you will not be allowed to operate or sell anything until I have competed my investigation.

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Soundtracks

Riverboat Blues
Written by Kenneth Anderson
Performed by Apple Trax

User Reviews

Avoid like The Plague

I just had to turn this off after 20 minutes or so. Unbelievably bad. And as one reviewer pointed out, about half the dialogue is puns on manure and excrement. Also, most of the outdoor scenes look horribly artificial, like a bad B-movie (and even though this was intentional in a way, it's still terrible to look at and undermines whatever attempt at realism/credibility the film is making). Cannot understand how they assembled such a decent cast for such a horrible piece of ... (insert fecal term of choice) And I'm not just hatchet-jobbing the film because it's so bad, I was just wishing afterwards that someone has warned me off it. Even liking Billy Bob Thornton and Tea Leoni (spelling?) didn't help at all. I actually felt sorry and embarrassed for them! That's how bad this was. Too bad.

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1