(2009)

Submitted by Anonymous

POOPER:
Jack is out of work for several months, and he and his family ultimately lose everything, including their house. This allows Jack to see he was acting selfish and he and his family begin to become more selfless, and their faith in God grows. Jack eventually gets a job from his former company’s competitor. Also, Wesley, not Jack, was responsible for the label typos that caused everyone to become sick, and is fired.

LONG VERSION:
Jack Baker (Matt Moore) is the Director of Marketing for a company that specializes in cleaning supplies. He is on the fast-track to a promotion when a typo on a label for a new product caused over 200 people to become sick, and the company is facing multiple lawsuits. Even though he is not responsible for the mistake, Jack is pressured by his boss Mr. Ferguson (Michael Wilhelm) to take the fall to save the company and is fired. Even though he is promised to get his job back once the scandal blows over, three months pass before Jack comes to the realization that he might not get his old job back. Unable to find work in an area that has high unemployment, he forced to take a job working at a fast food restaurant, working for a much younger boss, while wearing a penguin costume.

One day, Jack’s former assistant Wesley (David Sisco) comes into the restaurant for lunch. Wesley, who never liked Jack, is thrilled to see his old boss in an embarrassing situation and goes back to the office to tell everyone, including Mr. Ferguson. Realizing that he might lose him to a top competitor, Ferguson has Wesley convince Jack that he will be hiring him back soon. While this is happening, Jack and his family, who had been living in luxury, is quickly falling into debt. His car has been repossessed, the power has been cut off, and several other bills are past due. They also find out that they are not eligible for food stamps, and the local church doesn’t have enough money to help out either. Despite all this, Jack is determined to solve their financial problems himself.

As part of their plan, Wesley has told Jack that if he even considers a job offer from their competitor, Ferguson will never bring him back. So when that company does offer him their Director of Marketing job, he turns it down. But when Jack goes to his old office expecting to get rehired, he is told by Ferguson that many people still blame him for the PR disaster that occurred due to the typo and he will never be rehired. Wesley then tells Jack that he knew that he was never going to be rehired, and this plan was to get back at him for the times he felt disrespected by Jack. After he leaves, Ferguson tells Wesley that he recently found out a change was made to the labels after Jack turned them in to the printer, and he suspects that Wesley, who is known to be a terrible speller, is responsible for that.

As Jack and the family become more and more desperate for money (he quit the fast food restaurant when he thought he was going to be rehired and hasn’t found another job), he comes to the realization that not only can’t he solve their financial problems himself, but he has been selfish when he sees others worse off than they are. He and his family start attending the local church and Jack’s faith begins to come alive. As a result, he begins to become more selfless, and his family follows suit. He donates a hot meal to a homeless man, and their kids decide to donate their Christmas gifts to the poor. Unfortunately, their newfound beliefs cannot save their house from foreclosure and they lose it the day after Christmas, forcing them to live in a tent village.

Several months later, a representative of the other company finds Jack at the tent village. It turns out that Ferguson’s former assistant, who quit when she learned what they did to Jack, went to work for that company and told them what happened. They were impressed that he willingly sacrificed his job to help others when nobody else would do that, and they want someone who cares more about others than himself on their team. They hire him for the job he originally turned down and soon Jack and his family are in a new home and are caught up with their bills. They’re quick to point out that this good blessing was a result of their belief in God instead of luck or anything that they did.

Over the course of the next year, Jack and his family have turned their back on the luxurious lifestyle they used to have and became more helpful to others. They begin to go to church much more often and their Christian faith has grown as a result. Later, it’s learned that Wesley was indeed responsible for the label change that led to the illnesses, and he covered it up by making it look like Jack was responsible, and was fired. The movie ends with him getting a job with the fast food restaurant Jack used to work at, and he now wears the penguin costume.