One Week Job

Perplexed about what career path to follow after graduation, Sean Aiken—an inventive, personable young Canadian—decides to try out 52 different professions (one per week), starting with those offered by cooperative, ever-upbeat employers in and around British Columbia (bungee-jump instructor, innkeeper, newspaper journalist, radio DJ, stockbroker, dairy farmer), with all his wages going to charity. As word of the One Week Job project spreads via CNN and Good Morning America, Aiken is offered opportunities to be a Manhattan photographer's assistant, a Florida firefighter, and even a ranger at a Hawaiian volcano park. Straight-outta-reality-TV complications develop when Sean falls in love during this very busy year, and when his mother back home faces a life-threatening illness. More to the point, the job marathon begins to turn into an indulgent media stunt overwhelming any serious self-discovery, and Aiken and friend/director Ian Mackenzie acknowledge that the celebrity stuff is hurting the project's goal, and even Aiken's ability to be a proper employee. Aiken's final choice of career “passion” may seem disappointingly obvious to some, but his go-getter momentum and bonhomie make One Week Job an engaging watch. DVD extras include audio commentary, deleted scenes, and more. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)