In Good Company

Funny and thoughtful, well-paced.

SCARLETT JOHANNSON ... oh we are supposed to be reviewing the movie not the actress?

A potentially great film that succumbs to the typical, uninspiredHollywood plotline.For the first half hour of?In Good Company?it seems we are in for a real treat.Topher Grace is outstanding as the young, overly-ambitious Carter. The story of corporate suck-up, Carter Duryea,trying to overcome his inexperience and self doubts when he is tapped torun the New York office of a sports magazine and the turmoil among the older, wiser employees he creates is enough to carrythis ship. Unfortunately we get lost at sea as the storyline sinks into a predictable and ultimately unrewarding romance between the young Carter and the daughter of Dan Foreman (Quaid), the 51-year-old head of ad sales at the magazine, who is forced to give up his office to make room for the unseasoned yet arrogant Carter. Presumably, Carter?s fling with the college-aged Alex Foreman (Johansson)is designed to create the film?s biggest laughs as they both scheme to keep their affair secret from dad. This is where ?In Good Company? fails miserably. What we are left with is the inevitable confrontation when Dan discovers Carter is dating his daughter.All you need to know about this is that it ends with Carter getting a black eye in a restaurant.Did I mention this movie is predictable? In the end, Alex decides to start dating other men, Dan gets his old office back and Carter, transformed by the power of love, becomes a new man and gives up life in the corporate jungle.Oh yeah, Dan and Carter form a new friendship thanks to their time together in the trenches. This film had all the right ingredients to be just as good, if not better, than the Oscar-nominated ?Working Girl,? probably the definitive office comedy.A better end result would have almost certainly garnered Grace a nomination for Best Actor. The same cannot be said for Quaid, who seems to be phoning this one in.A scene in which Dan believes Carter is about to fire him yields a bizarre performance from Quaid, who appears to be imitating Jack Nicholson. Sticking to the stronger plotline, dumping the needless and uninspired Carter/Alex romance (or at least doing more with it) and tying up some other lose ends would have made ?In Good Company? an enduring American comedy classic.

good

Great movie...I agree with Paul on this one. It was an akward ending. A sneek peek of real corporate flip flop. A good twist to an end.

Great movie! only thing I wish the ending was better, it seem sort of akward.