Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
I’ll say it. I love this trailer. I have been betting on Topher Grace as a leading man for some time now, and anything that looks like it advances the cause is on my list of “must see” films. I think this looks like it could very well be a great, sweet, smart little date movie, and that’s what I’m hoping as I read these two reviews:
Hey Harry, I just got back from a sneak peek of "In Good Company" and thought you might like to hear about it. Or maybe someone might like to hear about it.
All right, here goes... basic premise... Paul Weitz has written and directed a film about Dan Foreman, an "old dinosaur" of an Ad guy (played by Dennis Quaid) who gets demoted after a corporate takeover and is left being bossed over by new hotshot Carter Duryea (played with surprising charm by Topher Grace). Clashes ensue over old school and new school and people get fired and at some point Dan's absurdly gorgeous daughter Alex (played by the absurdly gorgeous Scarlett Johansson) steps in to have some sex with Carter and bring the whole anger to a boiling point.
Along the way, both men's lives pretty much go to shit after various painful family occurences (divorce, unexpected pregnancy, college tuition troubles) and ultimately they redeem each other. Whoops, sorry I should have warned about some spoilers but then again if you watched two damn minutes of this movie you would probably know absolutely everything that was going to happen.
So what worked? The overall performances were good, especially Topher Grace and Dennis Quaid. They played well off of each other and actually had some decent scenes (most notably a scene involving a lonely Carter inviting himself over to Dan's for dinner). The music choices were good, although i would really like to watch a film that doesn't manage to overuse The Shins's wonderful music. Its getting a bit absurd, really. Especially when they pop up multiple times in semi-good movies. Give me something incredible and then jam good music in there, i wont mind. Really. Please. Try it. And the feel good handling of the ending was nice and poignant
What didn't work? Pacing. Holy crap, pacing was awful and slow. So many good scenes felt like they ran too long and ultimately got as formulaic as the plot. Also, the script was a little boring. If the actors weren't so good, this could have been absolutely hideous. Most notably the awful Malcom McDowell and Clark Gregg. Especially Gregg as the prick who will step on anyone to climb the ladder. This guy is a goddamned fool in everything he does thats not penned by Mamet. He should really just stick around and wait for the next Mamet production, because no one else knows how to direct this asshole. He's just awful. Oh yeah, and this also feels just too Oscar-ish, as its just feels like it tries too hard. Oh and there seemed to be a lot of jokes just left in the wind. Things that seemed like they were perfectly open for a laugh were cut short and left with more boring scenes. Oh yeah and finally the romance between Alex and Carter was way too forced. WAY TOO FORCED!
But don't get me wrong. This wasn't a horrific film. It was just a so-so datemovie that loses all romantic steam about halfway through. I would recommend some tinkering with editing and whatnot, but in all honest, the movie was only like an hour and a half and to cut anymore would seem a little redundant. Then again, it did feel like it was about four hours long.
We were told this was the final cut, but i hope for Paul Weitz's sake that this isnt the end, because I feel like there could be a decent film in there somewhere. It just needs work. Sadly, a lot of it.
Oh and whoever was sitting behind me kicking my chair, i hope you get hit by a cab on your way home.
Till the next sneak drops into my lap, this is Jankypryck signing off.
Okay. Sounds like a mixed bag of a review. How about this one?
Hi there!
Saw an advanced screening of the new Pault Weitz (“About a Boy”) film called “In Good Company” in NYC the other day. Here’s what I thought (I’ll try to keep this spoiler-free):
The film stars Dennis Quaid as a middle-aged father of two who leads a pretty happy life until the company he works for is taken over by some giant corporation. He is then faced with a tough decision: give up his job or work as a mere “wingman” for his new boss (Topher Grace, “That 70’s Show”), who is merely half his age and obviously doesn’t have a clue about the job he’s supposed to be doing.
OK, this is kind of a feel-good-movie, very similar to “About a Boy” in tone. Of course, Quaid’s and Grace’s characters manage to get along after the initial dick-wagging contest, but the movie isn’t as predictable and clichéd as I was fearing it to be.
There is some very funny dialogue in here along with some good old-fashioned slapstick. Quaid does a great job playing the stressed-out father and delivers one of his best performances to date. And Topher Grace tunes down the goofiness of his 70’s Show character just enough to make his role believable and at the same time somewhat funny.
How ‘bout the chicks, then? Scarlett Johansson is beautiful as ever, though her character seemed to me to be the least developed in the movie. She does have quite a bit of onscreen-time, but some of the things she says and does seemed rather random and unmotivated. Selma Blair is also in it, but you might just miss her entire performance whilst waiting in line for the friggin’ popcorn with the movie already starting.
Another “surprise appearance” is made by Malcolm McDowell, who plays this Richard Branson type of guy. For some reason he’s not listed in IMDB yet, though, but he’s definitely in it.
The directing is spot on, and so is the choice of music. The soundtrack to this one is right up there with “Garden State”.
So, all in all I had a good time watching this one. Not as cheesy as one might fear and funnier as you might expect, “In Good Company” is probably a pretty safe choice for a date-movie both parts will enjoy. I give this one a B+.
Cheers,
Palmer Eldritch
I’ll give Palmer bonus points for his kick-ass spy name, and I’ll say that I’m still eagerly awaiting this one. Thanks, guys.
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