Get a Job

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

movie2016

18%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

A critically-demolished R-rated comedy about post-grad unemployment that's too crude for teens and too unfunny for adults.

5.3/10

21%

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Get a Job

movie

R, 2016

18%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

A critically-demolished R-rated comedy about post-grad unemployment that's too crude for teens and too unfunny for adults.

5.3

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Screenwise Verdict

This is one of those movies that sat on a shelf for years before being quietly dumped—and the 9% Rotten Tomatoes score tells you why. The post-college job hunt is fertile ground for comedy, but Get a Job squanders it with predictable jokes, crude humor that doesn't land, and a cynical tone that offers no insight or heart.

The R rating is well-earned: there's a prolonged strip club scene with topless nudity, sex scenes, characters smoking weed and cheating drug tests, and enough F-bombs to make a sailor blush. None of it serves a purpose beyond shock value, and none of it is particularly funny.

Even if you're 16+ and technically in Common Sense Media's age range, you deserve better entertainment. Adults looking for smart workplace satire should watch Office Space or Sorry to Bother You instead. This one's a hard pass for families and a waste of 90 minutes for everyone else.

Age Fit

Common Sense Media rates this 16+ due to sexual content, nudity, drug use, and language. Realistically, this is adult-only content (18+) with limited appeal even for that audience given its poor critical and audience reception.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

R-rated comedy with crude sexual content including a prolonged strip-club lap-dance scene with topless nudity, two sex scenes, frequent sex-based jokes, drug use played for laughs (including cheating a drug test with someone else's urine), and cynical workplace humor. The tone is crass rather than uplifting, with 26 uses of 'f**k' and other strong profanity throughout. Not emotionally healthy viewing for developing minds.

Imaginative

A predictable, formulaic workplace comedy that follows well-worn post-college job-hunting tropes without bringing fresh perspective or creative storytelling. Critics panned it universally (9% RT, 31 Metacritic) for being derivative and uninspired. No world-building, creative problem-solving, or invitation to explore ideas—just tired jokes about unemployment and corporate culture.

Safe

Multiple safety red flags for younger viewers: prolonged topless nudity in a strip club setting, explicit sexual content and jokes, marijuana use portrayed casually, cheating on drug tests, and pervasive strong language. The R rating and Common Sense Media's 16+ recommendation reflect significant mature content that would be inappropriate for children to encounter unexpectedly.

Enriching

Minimal enrichment value. While the premise of navigating post-college employment could spark discussions about career challenges, the execution is shallow and crass. The film doesn't offer meaningful insight into work, relationships, or personal growth—just crude humor about a relatable situation. Critics called it 'predictable' with humor that 'never fully lands.' No skill-building, empathy development, or substantive takeaways.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

The premise of navigating the brutal job market after college is genuinely relatable for young adults
Miles Teller leads a recognizable cast trying their best with weak material
Could spark conversations about career expectations vs. reality—if you can get through it

⚠

What to Watch For

R-rated content throughout: strip club scene with prolonged topless nudity, sex scenes, 26 F-bombs, and casual drug use
Characters cheat drug tests and engage in ethically questionable behavior played for laughs
Cynical, crass humor that lacks the wit to justify its raunchiness
Universally panned by critics (9% on Rotten Tomatoes)—even the audience score is only 21%

Conversation Starters

"What do you think makes finding a job after college so difficult? Is it different now than when this movie was made?"
"The characters use drugs and cheat on tests—why do you think the movie plays that for laughs? Is that realistic?"
"If you were struggling to find work in your field, what would you be willing to compromise on?"

Deep Dive

The "shelved movie" energy

There is a specific kind of awkwardness that happens when a movie sits in a vault for four years before seeing the light of day. Get a Job was filmed when the "millennial entitlement" discourse was at its peak, but by the time it actually hit screens, it felt like a dusty relic. It tries to capture the panic of the post-2008 economy, but it does so with a script that feels like it was written by people who haven't looked for an entry-level position in thirty years.

The result is a movie that is cynical without being smart. It treats the job hunt as a series of gross-out obstacles rather than a relatable struggle. When you see a 9% on Rotten Tomatoes, you aren't just looking at a "bad" movie; you’re looking at a project that the studio essentially gave up on.

A waste of a good lead

If you are here because you or your teen recently became a fan of the lead actor through his bigger, more recent hits, you should know that this is the "one for them" project that didn't pay off. He’s trying to bring his usual charming-but-smarmy energy to the role, but the material is so thin that he mostly just comes across as unlikeable.

If you want to see him in something that actually resonates or is worth your Friday night, check out our guide on Miles Teller Movies Ranked for Families: From Top Gun to Whiplash. You will find much better ways to spend 90 minutes than watching him navigate a plot involving stolen urine and corporate hazing.

The specific friction for parents

The R rating here isn't the "sophisticated adult drama" kind; it’s the "trying too hard to be edgy" kind. There is a prolonged sequence in a strip club with topless nudity that feels completely disconnected from the actual plot. It’s there for shock value, much like the scenes involving casual drug use and cheating drug tests.

For a 16-year-old, the movie might feel pointless. It doesn’t offer a realistic look at the workforce, nor does it function as a high-tier comedy. It occupies a weird middle ground where it’s too crude for younger teens but too shallow for older viewers who have actually experienced the cubicle-farm grind.

Better alternatives for the career-curious

If your kid is genuinely interested in movies about the "real world" or the absurdity of work, there are classics that do this with actual wit.

Office Space remains the gold standard for workplace frustration.
Sorry to Bother You offers a much more creative, surrealist take on the modern economy.
The Devil Wears Prada handles the "nightmare first job" trope with infinitely more style.

Ultimately, Get a Job is a movie that was released because of the names on the poster, not the quality of the film. It's a skip for almost every demographic.

Stills