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All Movie Info
Starring:
Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson, Marg Helgenberger, David Paymer, Clark Gregg, Philip Baker Hall, Selma Blair, John Cho, Frankie Faison, Ty Burrell, Kevin Chapman, Amy Aquino, Zena Grey, Colleen Camp, Lauren Tom
Directed By:
Paul Weitz
Written By:
Paul Weitz
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In Good Company (2004)
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Starring Dennis Quaid, the actor my mom would most like to have over for a barbeque, and Topher Grace, the only reason I saw WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON, IN GOOD COMPANY is a sweet, funny examination of contemporary corporate politics and masculinity. More deeply, the film is primarily about the relationships men have with each other as friends, fathers, and sons, handled with a light, deft touch. This is a purely enjoyable film, and could be watched with almost anyone of any age group, so gently -- sometimes too gently -- does it guide you through the trials and successes of its characters.
Dan Foreman (Quaid) is the head of ad sales at Sports America magazine but gets demoted when a mammoth corporation swoops in; rising star Carter Duryea (Grace) replaces him, zinging through the office corridors with buzz words and caffeinated twitchiness. An already tense relationship is further complicated when Carter meets and falls for Dan's daughter, Alex (Scarlett Johansson). Besides being a face-off between the loosely "old" and "young," their struggle is also about old school masculinity and values, both personal and professional vs. the cross-branded, workaholic offspring of the divorced. Quaid is perfect as Dan, whose name is about as manly as it gets, the father of two girls (one with a boyish nickname -- think he wants a son?) and husband to a beautiful wife; waking before dawn every day to work in Manhattan in an office filled with warm artifacts of his life: kid's drawings, snapshots, sports memorabilia. And then you have Carter, who desperately means to do well and to do right but isn't exactly sure how to yet; a framed picture inside his house is of...his house. As Carter, Grace brings a lean hunger and energy, perfect comic timing, and an inherent vulnerability and humor reminiscent of Jack Lemmon in THE APARTMENT; look for him to keep making good choices as his career expands beyond "That '70s Show" when it ends this year.
Paul Weitz has written and directed IN GOOD COMPANY, and some of the same themes explored in his 2002 film ABOUT A BOY are here as well. One aspect I found interesting was the idea of a man's redemption through others. In ABOUT A BOY, Hugh Grant is forced to care for a teenager, which eventually makes him worthy and desirous of a real relationship with a woman; with IN GOOD COMPANY, Topher Grace needs someone to care enough to give him a hard time, and he finds that with Dennis Quaid while experiencing first real love with Scarlett Johansson (much to the envy of the NYU guys sitting behind me in the theater this week).
Go to IN GOOD COMPANY for a very good time, and for the best entrance to a surprise party you'll ever see, but not to be deeply challenged. Some of the darker aspects of Carter's loneliness and Dan's self-imposed pressures, as well as his relationship with his daughter, are hinted at but not really exposed. This is a popcorn movie of the highest emotional order.
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