(Credit: www.buy.com)
Writer/Director:
Paul Weitz
Cast:
Dennis Quaid……….Dan Foreman
Topher Grace……….Carter Duryea
Scarlett Johansson……….Alex Foreman
Marg Helgenberger……….Ann Foreman
David Paymer……….Morty
Clark Gregg……….Steckle
Philip Baker Hall……….Eugene Kalb
Frankie Faison……….Corwin
Universal Pictures presents a Depth of Field production Running time: 110 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for some sexual content and drug references).
The movie:
Usually when you think of a corporate takeover you think of one company ransacking the assets of its new acquisition. So with everything in disarray no one expects a romance to blossom or for a father and son relationship to occur. But this is the story of In Good Company, a new dramedy from acclaimed writer/director Paul Weitz (American Pie, About a Boy).
Dennis Quaid plays Dan Foreman, the head of advertising sales for Sports America magazine. He’s got a nice corner office and a comfortable salary and is about to catch a big account from client Eugene Kalb (Philip Baker Hall). Kalb is apprehensive because nobody has the attention span for print ads; everything is TV or Internet. Then misfortune happens. The successful sports magazine is purchased by a media conglomerateur named Teddy K.
As a young 26-year-old upstart, Carter Duryea (Topher Grace) is the type of guy who wants to live in the moment. When he gets a promotion he flails his arms excitedly expressing his joy. Carter is being groomed as the next big thing for Globecom, the media conglomerate owned by eccentric billionaire Teddy K. The reason for the promotion is because Teddy K knows his name. He likes what Carter does with cell phones.
Carter is brought in to replace Dan as the new head of ad sales; his purpose is to raise the number of advertisers for the magazine as well as cut some of the employees in the office. But there’s a problem. Carter has no experience in ad sales; he does have a rigorous firing procedure, though.
At first he assumes the job won’t be that hard. If he can hawk cell phones to a group of people he can sell ads, right? So. as Dan’s friends go on the chopping block, he remains as Carter’s “awesome wingman.” Dan accepts the demotion only for the fact that he has a mortgage and college tuition to worry about.
Whereas the corporate takeover is the movie’s foundation, it is the relationship between Dan and his wet-behind-the-ears boss that give the movie a focus. There is a bit of humility to be had watching the way the two interact. Carter is like the son Dan never had. This movie may have been the butt of jokes in Ocean’s Twelve when Topher Grace, playing himself, said he “phoned in his performance in that Dennis Quaid movie”; but that is so untrue. Ever since his first acting gig as Eric Forman on That ’70s Show and his part in Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, Topher has shown great strides in the performances he delivers. As Carter, Topher shows great acting potential playing a guy whose experience in advertising does not merit the success he has achieved. His sounding board Dennis Quaid is naturally likable, playing the role of the aging ad executive whose position is usurped. Even though their personalities conflict, they have a great chemistry with one another.
Another interesting aspect of this film is the lifestyle differences between Carter and Dan. It’s as if Paul Weitz didn’t want the two to have any similarities with each other. Dan has a wife and two loving daughters; Carter is recently divorced. Carter drives a Porsche 911 to work; Dan takes a cab or a beat-up family sedan. As he struggles to deal with single life, Carter charms his way into a dinner with Dan’s family. Inside the family household Carter meets Dan’s wife Ann (Marg Helgenberger) and his oldest daughter Alex (Scarlett Johannsson). This is Carter’s second encounter with Alex. They first met inside an elevator. Carter was starting his new job; Alex was going to see her dad.
Both Alex and Carter become infatuated with each other and begin dating. Of course, there is a seething conflict between Alex and her father. Yes, Dan is really teed off that Carter would date his daughter – punching him in the face as a result – but Dan is really upset that Alex would do such an act and keep it a secret.
If this were a teenage comedy the Alex-Carter affair would be a syrupy romantic tale the scale of the teenage comedies of the 1990s. Luckily, writer-director Paul Weitz has more faith in his actors. Even good-looking characters can have baggage.
Besides the performances from Quaid, Grace and Johansson, the most surprising is from David Paymer. He is the type of actor you see in movies but can’t quite remember his face. His Morty character is old, balding and disheveled. Morty was one of Dan’s friends at the magazine who was let go. His firing is eerily similar to the “dog eat dog world” state of job security today. At his age another advertising firm probably won’t hire him. Which is a shame. Morty has great quips and one-liners. He would be the life of the party if someone gave him a chance.
Score: 8/10
THE DVD:
VIDEO: How does it look?
The DVD producers have given this film a nice video transfer. There seems to be some graininess in the background, but it could just be my television set. The lighting gives the facial tones a distinct look. As if the color exemplifies the mood or direction the film is taking. In Good Company has its theatrical widescreen viewing presentation (1.85:1) and it is enhanced for 16 x 9 televisions.
Score: 8/10
AUDIO: How does it sound?
The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. Since this is mostly a dialogue-driven film, the audio lacks in various places. Still, you can listen to Peter Gabriel’s “Strawberry Hill” in 5.1 digital clarity. You have the options of viewing the film in English, French, or Spanish.
Score: 8/10
SPECIAL FEATURES: Deleted scenes, a commentary track with Paul Weitz and Topher Grace, and a seven-part behind-the-scenes feature!!
For a movie that was critically lauded and enjoyed by most, the DVD extras are slim.
The first extra is Synergy, the behind-the-scenes featurette. The total running time for the seven parts is a little over 23 minutes. Each part covers a different aspect of the film. Emphasis is placed on the Stars of In Good Company; the Youth; gettiNg older; rEal life; New YoRk locations; editinG; and the storY
(Note: the bold letters should give a clue on why this 23-minute feature is in seven parts. Weird gimmick if you ask me.)
Overall, it is pretty much a fluff piece. There are a few interesting facts discussed in the “New York locations” and “editing” featurettes. Like learning the original running time for the film was two hours and forty-five minutes long.
Some of those cut scenes make it into a 16-minute deleted scenes montage. You have the option of listening to director Paul Weitz explain why the scenes were left on the cutting room floor. One interesting scene has Dennis Quaid getting his hair dyed so he can look younger. During a team meeting some of the dye starts to drip down his face. What makes this scene interesting is because there is a subtle reference in the final cut of the film. Almost reminiscent of the octopus reference in The Goonies. You never see the octopus in the theatrical version, but you love the movie so much that you just don’t care.
The commentary track with Paul Weitz and Topher Grace is fun to listen to. Beginning with the “Universal Pictures world domination logo,” the two of them start cracking jokes on the making of the film. Topher’s mom has seen this film twelve times. Weitz admits that he tries to be conscious with his transitions. In the feature there are two really good examples. One is a dinosaur reference. The other is a heartbeat. Topher admits that his favorite shot in the movie is when he is jogging on a treadmill and there is a nature setting behind him. As the camera zooms out we see it’s really a video monitor with a nature program. When talking about Steckle (Clark Gregg), a corporate suck up to Teddy K, the two admit that he is a very intense guy. Besides being an actor, Gregg wrote the screenplay for What Lies Beneath. Then Weitz jokingly discloses that Gregg actually wrote In Good Company.
Cast and crew filmographies round out the rest of extras on the DVD.
Score: 5/10
