In Good Company [HD]

PLEASANT FILM WITH GREAT PERFORMANCES ALL AROUND
If you've seen the preview you already know this movie is about Dennis Quaid's company being taken over by a larger corporation. Quaid's ad division is then assigned Topher Grace as the new boss and Quaid is demoted. The characters are thoroughly explored and milked for plenty of laughs. This is a smart comedy that does not rely on bathroom humor to pull it's weight. There is nothing offensive here. You could take your grandmother and not blush one time.

The interaction between Quaid and Grace is wonderful. Grace almost immediately begins to admire his older underling, Quaid, and look to him as the father he never had and always wanted. During the interoffice scenes, Grace becomes enamored with Quaid's daughter, Scarlet Johansen. She too is wonderful in this role.

The only them not explored is the trust issue between father and daughter. They make much of it on the surface, but never once do Scarlet and Grace discuss keeping their relationship a secret...

An Intelligent, Entertaining Comedy - Well Worth Watching!
"In Good Company" is definitely good comedy and makes for terrific entertainment! Contemporary big business practices are satirized here Big Time! Written and directed by Paul Weitz, this is a film with a fluid storyline interwoven with some poignant threads about how we set our priorities and choose to live our lives. Not corny or too sentimental, the top-notch cast and good acting only increase the viewers' pleasure. Dennis Quaid is fabulous here, as is Topher Grace, his young nemesis. What more could one desire in a movie for a fun evening - except some hot popcorn?

Dan Foreman, (Dennis Quaid), is the successful Director of Marketing for Sports America Magazine. He actually likes his work, which is good, since he is a twenty-five year veteran of the ad industry. Dan is a fifty-something family man, married to forty-ish Anne Foreman, (stunning Marg Helgenberger from TV's CSI), who, we learn early on, is pregnant - a pre-menopausal surprise! It's OK, they're thrilled...

Grim yet hopeful
This review is partly in response to the review "Pleasant while you're seeing it, but eminently forgettable." My reaction is the opposite: eminently memorable in spite of minor flaws.

The film deals with a subject of recent and continuing importance (though not quite as trendy as "outsourcing"), the reckless transactions of megacorporations and consequent downsizing as the last dollar of immediate profit is squeezed out of purchased or merged enterprises. The related issue of displacement of older workers by young, energetic, cheaper ones also plays a part. The film is not just an economic essay, though, and the effects of the corporate manipulations on individual lives are its focus.

Dan (Dennis Quaid) is the 51 year old head of advertising sales for the magazine Sports America. When it is bought by the GlobalCom empire (headed by flimflamming guru "Teddy K") whizkid Carter (Topher Grace) is brought in to take over his department, and rounds of layoffs ensue...

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