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Back Shelf Beauties
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In Good Company Anyone who watched Ocean's Twelve closely might remember the wonderful cameo by Topher Grace, where he jokes, "I totally phoned it in on that Dennis Quaid movie." Well, this is that Dennis Quaid movie, and he did much better than phoning it in. In Good Company is an almost great film hindered by a love story that doesn't belong. Quaid stars as Dan Foreman - the middle aged advertising sales manager for a respected, venerable sports magazine called Sports America. He has given 20 years to the magazine, worked his way up to head his department, and earned the praise of clients and co-workers, but his whole world is about to be turned upside down. Sports America has been sold to Teddy K (Malcolm McDowell) - a flamboyant Rupert Murdoch/Richard Branson-type businessman who wants to shake things up. His team of sycophants and cult-like followers will be taking over, and Dan is being demoted, so a young, 26-year old marketing whiz kid, Carter Duryea (Topher Grace), can lead the advertising department and use the magazine to help other parts of Teddy K's business holdings. Just when you think it can't get worse, Carter starts to date Dan's daughter, Alex (Scarlett Johansson). Will Dan be able to function in this new corporate culture? Will he be angry when Alex starts to date Carter? When In Good Company focuses on workplace politics, corporate CEOs who spout meaningless platitudes to sound like "revolutionary" thinkers, the workers who worship the CEOs like Gods, and the world of multi-national conglomerates who buy and sell companies like baseball cards, the film is brilliant. Sadly, writer/director Paul Weitz decided to cram in a love story that distracts us from the more interesting and better written part of the movie. Weitz does a wonderful job showing us the impact of a modern day work place that most of us are familiar with, and probably experienced first hand. Dan represents the hard working, experienced and talented guy who often gets laid off in these mergers because the new company has the hubris simply to view him as a large salary instead of an important member of the team, but Weitz is able to make Dan and Carter more than simple symbols. He shows us how they are competitors, two ways of life and two employee mindsets facing off in a battle for supremacy, but also gives each one more human, common and interesting personalities. For as much as I hated Quaid in The Flight of the Phoenix, I love him in this film. Quaid makes Dan into the kind of guy you want to root for as he struggles with personal and professional difficulties, always trying to maintain high ethical standards, and not missing an opportunity to see the humor in it all. Quaid is hilarious, but these are the types of jokes you make when a situation is painful, and he shows us this, especially in a basketball game where Dan demonstrates to the young turks he can play just as hard as them. You laugh as you weep for such a good man. At the other end of the equation, Grace is just as funny as the whiny, hyper kid who shows a little heart. It would be easy to make Carter into the evil nemesis who twists his mustache and laughs when Dan has a failure, but Weitz and Grace realize it's more compelling to make Carter into a lost kid who wants to do the right thing if he can figure out what it is. While we are familiar with Grace as the quirky, nervous kid, he adds to that persona by showing us Carter's maturation. In Good Company could have been an amazing movie, but Weitz screwed up by throwing in a clunker of a love story that doesn't seem to fit and doesn't pack the emotional wallop needed in the climax. The main plot is halted as Weitz focuses on an average Romeo and Juliet love story, then he has to rush and wrap up the story we care about. Johansson is fine, but she's like a fifth wheel in this movie. See it for Quaid and Grace, but don't expect much from the other part of the movie. 3 Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2004 - WaffleMovies.com
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