From the filmmaker who made the acclaimed "About a Boy" and the profitable "American Pie" movies, "In Good Company" is a social commentary which deals with modern corporate world and family values. How does it compare with Paul Weitz's other works? The good news is it is not a pointless time-passer like the "American Pie" movies, and it is no less entertaining. The bad news is it is no ground-breaking film-making like "About a Boy", and it had the potential to be even better than "About a boy".
Initially titled "Synergy", the official title was laterally changed to "In Good Company". "Synergy" is not a bad title, but "In Good Company" has a broad meaning. Many associate it with a corporate organization, which is why many consider this film to be a movie about the corporate world. However, the word "company" may also refers to groups of people, and the title may refer to the Foreman family, which appears to be a good family. Because of its meaningful title, the story can touch on a wide variety of issues which it did, such as the meaning of life (through Carter Duryea), learning to live independently (through Alex Foreman), and coping with difficulties in life (through Dan Foreman).
However, this film seems to be lacking in depth. As a social commentary, it does not really say much. As a character study, it does not have enough character development. In fact, there are clichés which are thankfully overcome by the great cast. In particular, I wish there is more emphasis on the romantic subplot between Carter and Alex. It is an interesting relationship and there is great chemistry between Scarlett Johansson and Topher Grace.
Dennis Quaid and Topher Grace play the leading roles with great effect. In fact, the story is pretty much about them. Quaid seems easy in his role, and Grace has the right personality for his role. However, Scarlett Johansson gave the stood out performance as the daughter of Quaid and the love interest of Grace. Tangling between the 2 key protagonists, she is the only supporting player with substantial screen time. Not given much to do, she managed to bring great emotional depth to her character and give the film more vibrancy.
After watching this film, I lament the fact that Paul Weitz overlooked the opportunities that he created in his own script. Nonetheless, his swift direction brought everything together smoothly and places some nice touches on his work (I love how he uses extreme close-up to build emotional climax).
Initially titled "Synergy", the official title was laterally changed to "In Good Company". "Synergy" is not a bad title, but "In Good Company" has a broad meaning. Many associate it with a corporate organization, which is why many consider this film to be a movie about the corporate world. However, the word "company" may also refers to groups of people, and the title may refer to the Foreman family, which appears to be a good family. Because of its meaningful title, the story can touch on a wide variety of issues which it did, such as the meaning of life (through Carter Duryea), learning to live independently (through Alex Foreman), and coping with difficulties in life (through Dan Foreman).
However, this film seems to be lacking in depth. As a social commentary, it does not really say much. As a character study, it does not have enough character development. In fact, there are clichés which are thankfully overcome by the great cast. In particular, I wish there is more emphasis on the romantic subplot between Carter and Alex. It is an interesting relationship and there is great chemistry between Scarlett Johansson and Topher Grace.
Dennis Quaid and Topher Grace play the leading roles with great effect. In fact, the story is pretty much about them. Quaid seems easy in his role, and Grace has the right personality for his role. However, Scarlett Johansson gave the stood out performance as the daughter of Quaid and the love interest of Grace. Tangling between the 2 key protagonists, she is the only supporting player with substantial screen time. Not given much to do, she managed to bring great emotional depth to her character and give the film more vibrancy.
After watching this film, I lament the fact that Paul Weitz overlooked the opportunities that he created in his own script. Nonetheless, his swift direction brought everything together smoothly and places some nice touches on his work (I love how he uses extreme close-up to build emotional climax).