neumu [ cinematronic ]




	In Good Company
	Paul Weitz Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson, Marg Helgenberger, David Paymer, Clark Gregg, Philip Baker Hall, Selma Blair, Malcolm McDowell 2004		"In Good Company" is further evidence that the witty, bittersweet movie "About a Boy" was no fluke and was, in fact, more emblematic of director Paul Weitz's work than his admittedly hilarious breakthrough, the teen sex comedy "American Pie." Written and directed by Weitz, "In Good Company" doesn't quite tug at the heart like "About a Boy," but it's a clever, tragicomic checkup on workplace ageism, corporate machination and romantic misadventure. Dennis Quaid matches his exemplary performances in "The Rookie" and "Far From Heaven" and grounds "In Good Company" as Dan Foreman, a likable middle-aged guy facing personal strife and his own mortality. Dan is a happy, successful advertising executive for a sports magazine until a mogul, played with oily élan by unbilled Malcolm McDowell, acquires the publishing company. Essentially demoted, Dan gets a new, inexperienced boss nearly half his age: callow Carter Duryea. Increasing the pressure on Dan, his wife is pregnant with their third child, years after they ever planned to procreate again, and oldest daughter Alex (Scarlett Johansson) has eyes for Carter. It all boils over by a third act that seems inevitable and, thankfully, deviates from formula. And self-effacing, sincere Topher Grace, the Midwestern Everydork on TV's "That '70s Show," is just right as Carter. His nascent film career may soon invite comparisons to Tom Hanks.


	Sunday, November 17, 2024





	Search Neumu: