In
Good Company is a harmless romance/drama/comedy that benefits greatly from the
chemistry and charisma of it’s two lead players. I’m not referring to
Topher Grace and Scarlett Johansson, but rather Topher Grace and Dennis Quaid.
While they don’t supply the romance aspect of the film (that would be a completely
different movie altogether), they do play off one another beautifully, and it
is their likability that elevates an otherwise conventional movie to a higher
level.
Dennis
Quaid is Dan Foreman, a veteran ads salesman for a prestigious sports magazine,
who suddenly finds himself and the company he works for in danger of a major downsizing.
Topher Grace is Carter Duryea, a new hot shot salesman who soon finds himself
Dan’s unlikely boss. Although Carter is only half Dan’s age, the two
have no choice but to get along. Outside of work, Carter finds his life in a bit
of turmoil. He’s not getting along with his wife of seven months and doesn’t
really have any family or friends to turn to, so he quickly begins to cling to
Dan and his loving family, and before long, begins romancing Quaid’s college
bound daughter Alex (Scarlett Johanssen).
Not
surprisingly, Carter and Alex decide to keep their relationship a secret, leading
to the all-too-inevitable confrontation. In Good Company has a fair share of obvious
moments to be sure, and the gist of the plot plays like a sitcom, but the cast
is so darned likeable that, more often than not, I enjoyed myself.
Dennis
Quaid is quite charming here if a tad mechanical, but he has some terrific moments
- including a wildly funny stunt at a surprise party. Topher Grace is outstanding
and possesses an incredible knack for comic timing (not surprising given his tenure
at That’s 70's Show). He displays a terrific balance of dry wit and high
energy comedy, and in many ways, he reminds me of a young Tom Hanks (check out
Nothing in Common and you’ll see what I mean). Quaid and Grace work well
together, particularly in the final act of the film when they really begin to
feed off of each other’s ad selling techniques.
Marge
Helgenberger is great but underused as Quaid’s wife. David Paymer is effective
as a casualty of a the company downsizing. Scarlett Johanssen, I’m sorry
to say, never quite gels. She’s gorgeous and sweet, but I never really found
myself buying in to the romance portion of the film, which is really more of the
screenwriter’s fault I suppose.
In
Good Company was written and directed by American Pie scribe Paul Weitz (he also
wrote and directed the superior About a Boy), and it certainly offered up moments
I liked. I loved a confrontation between Dan and Globecom CEO Teddy K (Played
by Malcolm McDowell) in the final act of the film, and appreciated that the end
of In Good Company doesn’t tie everything up in a pretty little bow (although
they do go a little too far with Paymer’s fate). And it’s nice to see
that Dan has a loving, nurturing life outside of work. Often in movies of this
nature, the lead character has a life of dysfunction to go home to (as is the
case with Carter). It was refreshing to see the opposite side of the coin.
Sadly
though, there’s plenty that doesn’t work. The love story between Carter
and Alex isn’t nearly developed enough. Quite frankly, it almost feels unnecessary.
I also could have done without the sort of heavy handed notion that old school
business techniques are stronger than new techniques. Carter is the young hot
shot and Dan is the dinosaur, and in In Good Company, what happens to both of
these men by the end of the film, doesn’t necessarily represent how things
would go down in real life (a similar scenario in Ron Howard’s Parenthood
plays more honestly and effectively). But then this is the movies so I guess it
isn’t entirely fair to harp on such a thing.
I’m
sort of in the middle of the road with In Good Company. The cast is strong and
likeable, and the movie did make me laugh on several occasions, but there are
moments when I felt it just didn’t quite get there. This is a pleasant diversion
but given the strength of the lead players, I hoped for a little bit more. A good
movie but not a great one.
