At almost 52 years old, Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid) faces a demotion
at work and a new baby on the way. Worse, his new boss is Carter
Duryea (Topher Grace), a just-divorced 26-year-old who ends up
romancing Dan’s daughter Alex (Scarlett Johansson). Through other
travails at work and home for both of them, Dan and Carter slowly form
the father-son bond neither of them really have.
CRITIQUE
It is official: Topher Grace is the best comedic actor of his
generation. He’s got the kind of comic timing that you almost have to
be born with and he’s got genuine acting talent as well. He may have
joked hilariously in his Ocean’s Twelve cameo as himself that
he phoned in that Dennis Quaid movie, but you see that not only is
that not true, but the other actors and the other elements of In Good
Company result in a warm, affecting film.
Corporate America
treated with gentle satire is the perfect way to sum up this film but
there is a lot more going on. Relationships work from all angles among
the three leads: Father-son, father-daughter, boyfriend and
girlfriend. It’s all well plotted and the dialogue is often
alternately the funniest and most poignant of real life. There are so
many moments to savor here: Carter meeting Alex for the first time,
Dan’s family dinner with Carter, Dan and Carter successfully landing
an important client together. The romance subplot also just deepens
the story and the relationships from multiple angles. The script just
works because its so entertaining.
The technical aspects are stellar as well, with nice production
design consisting of authentic sets and costuming with lots of natural
light. There are good songs on the soundtrack as well, most memorably
Peter Gabriel’s "Solisbury Hill." There are some pitch-perfect editing
choices here as well, such as presenting Dan and Carter’s standoff
with Carter’s jerk boss like the Western of old with extreme close-ups
of the faces. There’s also a transition at the beginning of the film
that goes from dialogue about dinosaurs to a dinosaur-shaped cell
phone. Yep, good direction all around from Paul Weitz, this time
working without his brother as he did on "American Pie" and "About a
Boy."
Aside from Grace, Quaid is just one of the most appealing actors
working today. He’s playing older here, but he really doesn’t look 50
years old at all. He’s not only aging gracefully, it’s almost as if
he’s getting younger. He fits this role like a glove. It’s also nice
to see Marg Helgenberger out of "CSI" mode. The only slip up is
Scarlett Johansson. She’s not a bad actress but she’s too overexposed.
I couldn’t help wondering what an actress who isn’t seen everywhere
could have done with the part. Perhaps we would like the character a
bit more when she breaks up with Carter.
THE VIDEO
The light-infused cinematography is preserved from the theatrical
presentation in this anamorphic widescreen format. The film looks
authentic and good.
THE AUDIO
The sound is fine here in Dolby Digital Surround. The language
tracks offered are French and Spanish, as well as English, French, and
Spanish subtitles.
THE EXTRAS
Deleted
Scenes:
There are quite a few of them, all as well written as the film itself,
with good commentary from director Weitz explaining why they were cut.
I especially like the scene where Dan tries dying his hair, resulting
in an unpredictable piece of comedy, and the montage of Carter
discussing his ex-wife with his co-workers.
7
Featurettes:
There are seven of these and I’m discussing them together because they
are cleverly grouped on the DVD menu around the word “synergy,” a word
heard a lot in the film and which served as the film’s original title.
All the featurettes are brief with the usual clips and interviews
format, though the clips are kept to a minimum. Stars focuses
mostly on Dennis Quaid, with a cute and funny bit with Topher at the
end. Youth puts Topher and Scarlett in the spotlight, while
Getting Older discusses just what it says in a funny way. Real
Life provides quite interesting information from people actually
in the business field as portrayed in the film. New York Locations
covers one shooting day as Weitz points out the actual New York City
spots used in the film, like an NYU tennis court. Editing is an
in-depth introduction to the least-conspicuous aspect of film. This
one should have been longer. Finally, Story is self-explanatory
as well, and includes some nice information about the inspiration for
the material.
Audio
Commentary by Director Paul Weitz and Topher Grace: Both team up for a good commentary, which
mixes truly interesting things about the production with fun
anecdotes. For example, the little joke Dennis played on Topher his
first day of filming, or that Topher isn’t actually drinking coffee in
the great pep talk scene but water. Topher is a bit quiet at first and
everyone is a little overly modest but this is a good track overall.
Cast and Crew Bios:
The usual stuff but quite lengthy.
