In Good Company (2004)

I wasn't able to sit through the entire film, so these comments are qualified.The story is that the corporation in which Dennis Quaid, at the age of 51, is head of the magazine advertising department. The company is undergoing some downsizing and employees all have the jitters about being fired or reduced in rank -- "Let go," as the expression has it. Quaid is dismayed when he's told that he'll be demoted to assistant chief executive deputy of magazine advertising. "You're not LETTING me go!," he exclaims. "I don't WANT to go; you're firing me!" An amusing rhetorical point.When he meets the new chief of magazine advertising, Topher Grace, his jaw drops. "How old are you?" "Twenty-six," replies Grace. "I'm 51 and you're going to be my boss." It's a humiliating experience. I was 49 with four college degrees behind me when I applied for a job as a pizza delivery boy, one of those kids who wears a colorful Edwardian outfit and shouts, "Look out -- hot stuff!" My boss would have been 21, but I didn't get the job after I replied to his query, "Got any delivery experience, sir?" Poor Dennis Quaid.The movie has some virtues aside from these incongruous juxtapositions. The teen-aged Scarlett Johansson is one of them. Topher Grace understandably is smitten by her.But Topher Grace's character is not one of the virtues. He's an innocent-looking guy, kind of appealing, but his character as written is a mess. He's supposed to be a whiz kid, but the examples of his genius that we see don't elevate him in my esteem. Most cell phones are bought by kids, so let's manufacture them in the shape of dinosaurs and instead of ringing, they'll roar.It's hard to know what they were getting at when the part was written. He constantly confesses to being nervous, and yet he's adamantine at work. It's as if we were learning that Idi Amin was nervous. I suppose his confession is designed to make us feel empathic towards him, the poor kid. He's 26, making a million dollars a year and is bursting with social status and power, and we feel sorry because he's nervous.I have a feeling that I know what the tale was getting at -- all these status discrepancies -- but the way they're treated resembles the failed pilot of a TV situation comedy. It was a disappointment because, well, comedy NOW -- more than ever! And there have been some good ones -- "The In Laws," "Analyze This!", and "The Freshman." But I wouldn't include "In Good Company" on that list.

This is a favorite of mine. All the main characters are great but it's the interplay between Dennis Quaid and Topher Grace that really shines.Topher is a young ambitious corporate climber steeped in the modern cut-throat business world. Quaid represents the era where customer relations were important. The clash gets more complicated with personal drama & romance but it never looses itself and is poignant both in its' comedy and tragedy. Scarlett does a decent days work, but Marg Helgenberger is a lot better and shows that she can really act. All the other cast members are good - and Malcolm McDowell does a great cameo.I highly recommend this to all.

Dennis Quaid is an actor I've pretty much tried to ignore over the years. It may be that the movies he selected to appear in did not usually appeal to me. However, there have been a couple of films lately -- including this film -- that has made me re-look at Quaid...and I'm becoming more and more impressed.Also, I looked at Topher Grace as that kid on a television series I didn't care for. But I'm impressed with him here. Gotta reexamine that too! Scarlett Johansson is lovely and a fine actress. Just 20 when she made this film, she is racking up quite a list of films to her credit. I can see why.Clark Gregg is good here as a sort of shyster executive. And I always appreciate David Paymer...here as a down-and-out (or is he) ad man.In terms of the story, it's a pretty decent one. A new company buys up a sports magazine and put Topher Grace in charge, even though he's younger and not very experience. Upheavals come, and he begins to look at one of the old-timers (although he's only 52 in the move...Quaid) as a father figure...but also falls in love with Quaid's daughter. Quite a dilemma for Quaid. The one thing in this movie that I really fault is whether it would be very likely that Quaid's character would be quite so abrasive and on the verge of quitting when he has just taken out a second mortgage on his house and his wife is having a baby; not very likely...although it makes the story work.Recommended. I really enjoyed it.

"Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid) is a loving husband, caring father, and star ad executive. But now, life is putting him through the ultimate test. Carter Duryea (Topher Grace), a young hotshot half his age, has just become his boss. And to complicate matters, Dan discovers Carter is dating his daughter (Scarlett Johansson). It's filled with genuine laughs and you're in good company when you watch this entertaining comedy that 'Rolling Stone' calls 'hilarious'," according to the DVD sleeve."Rolling Stone" is wrong; the humor in this film not "hilarious". Although he tries, Mr. Quaid can't make lines like "Only my wife is allowed to touch me there!" funny, and Mr. Grace's borderline kid/adult talk is just embarrassing. The dorm poster advertising: "Marijuana (Because Your Friends Just Aren't Very Funny)" may be good advice, concerning the comedy part of this comedy/drama.Writer/director Paul Weitz and his cast do much better with the dramatic portions, which take over by the third act. Although, by then, it's too little, too late. When Quaid and Grace hug, you wonder where the good story went. It should have ended with Quaid receiving the son he wanted, but in an unexpected way… ***** In Good Company (12/6/04) Paul Weitz ~ Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson