“Employee of the Month” is nowhere near as awful as I feared it would be. That doesn’t make it good (not remotely), it’s just not awful, and for a comedy that had every outward appearance of being so thanks to its odious trailers that probably should be considered a victory. Heck, there are even a few moments where I was actually having fun, and if I think about it I might even admit to laughing out loud a time or two. Considering Jessica Simpson is one of the stars who would have ever thought that was going to happen?

Set in the world of Costco-like bulk-discount warehouse stores, the movie concerns itself with two Super Club employees at opposite ends of the corporate retail food chain. At the top is cocky head cashier and 17-time employee of the month Vince Downey (Dex Shepard), at the bottom box boy of ten years Zach Bradley (Dane Cook).

Everyone hates Vince but they put up with him because he’s good at his job, making them and the store look good every time he does something spectacular for a customer. Everyone loves Zach but they never say so openly, making friends with the slacking loser not exactly a good way to climb to the top of the Super Club ladder.

Enter new cashier Amy Renfro (Simpson). She’s friendly, funny, charming, sexy and, most of all, according to her human resources file prone to falling into bed with the reigning employee of the month. This lights a fire under both Zach and Vince’s behinds, taking their longtime rivalry off the backburner and throwing it into the overly-competitive flames of bitter hatred where it has probably always belonged.

 “Employee of the Month” is as simple and as straightforward as it sounds. Vince is a jerk who knows when to turn on the charm while Zach is a nice guy just needing the fuel of a hard day’s work and the smile of a good woman to let him know he isn’t a loser. Other than that, there’s not much else to say or report in regards to plot, writer-director Greg Coolidge’s (“Sorority Boys”) script about as fresh as that seven-pounds of bulk potato salad I bought back in August and is still sitting in my refrigerator.

The filmmaker goes for the retail version of “Office Space,” the same antisocial ironic tone as that dry classic evident throughout. But Coolidge is no Mike Judge, his observational eye nowhere near as attuned or inspired as the “Beavis and Butthead” and “King of the Hill” creator’s. His targets are all the size of elephants, the easier the joke the more likely an actor has a chance of hitting it.

Granted, a romantic comedy like this one doesn’t necessarily have to be original as long as it is funny, and there are enough moments here to make the picture mildly enjoyable. Better, popular stand-up comic Cook is a fine leading man oozing both charm and sincerity. He has both great chemistry with the not as wooden as you would expect Simpson while also playing off of the hyperactive Shepard fairly remarkably. The guy’s got a future in film, and looking back on his career many years from now I’m sure we’ll all agree holding this one against him would probably be nothing more than a waste of time.

Really, though, what reason other than seeing a talented newcomer in his first starring role is there for anyone to actually see this? Sure Efren Ramirez, Any Dick, Tim Bagley, Harland Williams and the fabulous Brian George all have their moments, there just aren’t enough of them to conceal the fact I’ve seen this movie one too many times before. They can’t do everything, and with Coolidge forced to spend so much time on his rather bland central story at a certain point they all just start to fall by the wayside.

Not much else to say, really. “Employee of the Month” just sort of sits there while you watch it. Not so bad you hate it yet not good enough that it warrants remembrance, the only thing it really accomplishes is to introduce a talented leading man who is hopefully headed for better things. I guess it also proves Simpson doesn’t completely suck as an actress, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready for her to start reading Shakespeare, either.

What that has to do with anything, though, your guess is as good as mine; I’m still sitting here trying to get over the fact I bought bulk potato salad. I don’t even like potato salad.