Two plots are company, three are crowd
Dennis laughed off Scarlett’s suggestion of botox
In Good Company
Director: Paul Weitz; Starring: Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson, Marg Helgenberger
Dan (Quaid), a businessman in his early fifties, is having to cope with his managerial job in advertising being taken away from him and given to a young company hotshot, Carter (Grace). Carter is everything Dan's not: he's young, wealthy and wise to the new corporate mentality. Whilst Dan is into personal customer relations, Carter is all for a ‘psyched' workforce and ‘synergy'. Synergy is an ironic term for the filmmakers to adopt.
Defined in the OED as: “interaction or cooperation of two or more organisations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects”, it would seem this cooperation of elements is lacking in In Good Company. The film is three films in one.
Is it a ‘fish out of water' tale, with old man Quaid trying to stay afloat in the young new business world? Or could it be a romantic comedy about Carter wooing Dan's daughter? Maybe it's a scathing look at office politics. Basically, it doesn't know what it wants to be – though it's by no means devoid of merit. The romance between Grace and Johansson is sweet and benefits from not being the main focus of the film.
This low-key approach is refreshing: after years of films about ‘normal' people trying to date kings/musicians/porn stars, it's good to see two normal people having a relationship. There is hope for all us non-princes/astronauts/ lion tamers after all: Scarlett may yet stoop to conquer. The hollow nature of the business scene is constantly milked for laughs.
The jokes may not be as intelligently crafted as in Scott Adams' Dilbert, nor as satisfying as any jokes in Mike Judge's underrated office comedy Office Space, but they are consistent throughout and well delivered by a talented cast. Grace is particularly good, playing Carter as a man weaned on business slowly beginning to see the emptiness of it all, while Quaid offers nicely exasperated support. Yet despite the success of these individual segments they don't quite gel as a whole.
The satire never gets too nasty because it would darken the romantic mood, and the romance is neglected for a focus on Dan and Carter's relationship. Yet if you accept this disunity there is still much to enjoy here: quirky performances, a genuinely sweet romance and some good jokes. But, with a little synergy this could have been a whole lot more.
24th Feb 2005