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In
Good Company
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Rated: PG-13
Directed by: PAUL
WEITZ
Written by: PAUL
WEITZ
Starring: DENNIS QUAID, TOPHER GRACE, SCARLETT JOHANSSON
Released by: Universal Pictures
In
Short: What could have been just another
workplace comedy has surprising depth thanks
to fully realized characters and a firm directorial
hand. |
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Good
Company, Indeed
A
Smart, Successful Film by the Maker of “About a
Boy”
By
Andrew Bender
The
corporate world can be demeaning, as anyone can tell you
who’s ever read the Wall Street Journal,
watched “Working Girl” or, uh, worked. 51-year-old
head of ad sales Dan (Dennis Quaid) learns this first-hand
when the magazine he works for is taken over by a media
conglomerate.
Dan
is replaced (though not fired) by Carter (Topher Grace),
a 26-year-old up-and-comer who’s mastered business
lingo but hasn’t experienced business “do-o.”
Instead of learning from his elders and betters, Carter
fires some and dictates to the rest, and he ends up sounding
like a smarmy, chirpy, obsequious little nub. He buys
a Porsche, and we hate him.
But
when Carter crashes the car (on his way out of the dealership!),
the moment is, as he would put it, tasty, and thus begins
his comeuppance. It would have been easy to make “In
Good Company” a revenge flick, but writer/director
Paul Weitz has wisely chosen to develop the relationship
between Dan and Carter. When Carter falls for Alex, Dan’s
college-student daughter (a premise that sounds ickier
than it plays, thanks to an assured performance by Scarlett
Johansson), the action really heats up.
 |
 |
Paul Weitz and his brother Chris have
a real knack for father and son stories – they also
made “About a Boy” – and for showing
characters with realistic flaws. Sure, Carter starts the
film cocky and unlikable, but gradually you begin to empathize
with this lonely little boy of 26. Dan, too, is righteous
and usually right, but that doesn’t stop him from
overstepping his bounds. Even the comely, intelligent
Alex does not escape: a seduction scene in her dorm room,
while steamy, is filled with hilarious, cringe-inducing
clichés.
It’s
this combination of a strong, well-observed story and
smart performances that make “In Good Company”
a worthy investment. |
