Saturday, May 6, 2006

IN GOOD COMPANY
Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson, Marg Helgenberger

"He's rich, young and handsome. He's in love with you and he's your dad's boss."

HBO

But this isn't a foxhole. It's a Porsche

I understand from the IMDB website that Ashton Kutcher was the first choice for the role of the young ambitious upstart who takes over the top job when two companies merge. Well thank God he had some conflict in his schedule so he wasn't able to do this film. I can't stand that Kutcher guy. Heh. Anyways, Topher Grace from the same show, you know That 70's show (something I haven't taken a liking for) did just fine in this role.
A story about how a whole company is put on the edge when there is a takeover and one by one the poor employees are given the pink slip and fired from their jobs. Dennis Quaid as the head of the team somehow barely keeps his job because he becomes the wingman and not because he is a good salesman. In fact, he hardly makes any valuable sales pitch and is just hanging on by his teeth. To muddle up the plot a bit, his wife is pregnant, he is already in his early 50s and their eldest daughter is shifting to a more expensive college, the NYU to pursue creative writing of all courses in the whole wide world of tertiary education.
Pretty much realistic in this age of mergers, hostile takeovers, no security of tenure in the workplace and young ambitious guys taking over the more experienced yet dispensable older employees. So that alone keeps the movie mildly interesting to watch, no major task to figure out. The actors do well in their roles, dialogue is ok, the plot is up to date with the times - all make for a pleasant viewing experience.

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