Plot: What’s it about?
There are a few things about “In Good Company” that struck me as, well, odd. I was reminded of “The Apartment” which showed the uprise of corporate America during the 1950’s. Flash forward 50 years and we have corporations buying corporations so often that it’s hard to tell who you work for (and as an employee of “Corporate America” I know all about the company you work for being bought and sold – it’s frustrating). The movie hit a nerve with me and I tended to focus on the corporate part as opposed to the “other” part (I’ll get to why it’s in quotes in a minute). Directed and written by Paul Weitz (“American Pie”, “About a Boy”) the movie pulls at some heartstrings, maybe even a bit too much. But for every bit of humor, there’s an equal bit of drama and its part of what makes Weitz a very talented director. I suppose I’m thinking about this too much, but I’m also wondering who this movie is targeted at? I was also amazed at the casting. Topher Grace plays the lead, perhaps trying to make a name for himself after “That 70’s Show” ends; along with Dennis Quaid, Scarlett Johansson and Marg Helgenberger. An interesting and eclectic cast and a movie that doesn’t really fit any sort of cookie cutter image – I’m intrigued.
Topher Grace plays Carter Duryea, a 26-year old go-getter whose “being groomed” for future management positions. His company buys another conglomerate which has “Sports America” (obviously a knock off on “Sports Illustrated”) as a major link in the chain. Carter is put in charge of Advertising Sales and replaces Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid), a 20 year veteran and has just learned he’s going to be a father…again. Dan is disgusted with the transition and sees several of his friends fired. He becomes Carter’s right hand man, begrudgingly, and tries to make the best of the situation. Carter’s personal life is in turmoil, though, as his wife of 7 months has just left him. He starts to see Alex (Scarlett Johansson) who just happens to be Dan’s 20 year old daughter. There’s a trade off in that Carter envies Dan’s personal life and Dan envies Carter’s drive. Will the two manage to work together and work things out or will they both lose their jobs and not live happily ever after?
Video: How does it look?
“In Good Company” is shown in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio an simply looks splendid. At some points, there seems to not even be enough room for everything that’s happening on screen. Black levels are solid and there was no artifacting or edge enhancement that I noticed. This looked like a glossy Hollywood production (visually speaking) from beginning to end and what better way to present it than on this great-looking disc. This comes to us from Universal, who has had some problems when it comes to transfers in the past. Top notch.
Audio: How does it sound?
As far as audio is concerned, “In Good Company” sports a pretty robust Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS soundtrack. Dialogue, sounds great as well with little distortion. The surrounds aren’t used that much or too effectively, but they do kick in a few times. There are times that the soundtrack really takes off, but never to the point where it gets distracting. Quite simply, this serves its purpose here and that’s about all we can expect. This is a good, decent-sounding track.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Though it looks a lot more impressive on screen, “In Good Company” really only features a commentary track and a couple of featurettes. The track is pretty good with Director Paul Weitz and star Topher Grace. We learn a lot about the shoot and casting as well of the character of Carter. I found it an insightful track and one that I’d recommend viewers listen to. The featurettes are divided into different segments for the acronym “SYNERGY” (which, for those who don’t know, is one of Steven Covey’s “Habits of Highly Effective People”). The “S” gives you one little snippit, the “Y” another and so on. This is clever, but somewhat distracting as well. A couple of deleted scenes are shown in non-anamorphic widescreen, though we can see why they were left on the cutting room floor. All in all “In Good Company” is an above average movie with corporate America at the very center. A must for fans of the “Paul Weitz” genre (if there is one) and a rental for the rest.
