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In fact, much of the appeal of his first feature was that it was a courageous as it was crass. Few American movies had the guts to admit that novice sexual encounters could be terrifyingly frustrating. Because the humor came more his characters' futile struggle to maintain their dignity though impossible circumstances than through goo, he and his brother Chris (who doesn't share writing or directing credit on this one but does produce) have gone on to make sophisticated and rewarding flicks like "About a Boy" and their latest "In Good Company."

"In Good Company" is good-natured comedy that sneaks in some chilling comments about the current business climate. Weitz thankfully keeps the anti-corporate sermons to a minimum, but expertly captures a lot of what's going wrong in today's offices.

Dennis Quaid stars as Dan Foreman, a veteran ad salesman for a popular sports magazine, who quickly discovers that his two decades of service may be for naught.

His publishing company has just been bought by a corporate raider named Teddy K (an uncredited and eerily effective Malcolm McDowell). The new owner has little appreciation for the people who made the magazine an asset and quickly appoints his own team.

Nervous about how he and his crew could be potentially losing their gigs, Dan suffers a further indignity when he winds up being demoted for one of Teddy K's drones, a workaholic cel phone salesman named Carter Duryea (Topher Grace). Carter is a 26-year-old who knows nothing about the magazine business and comes storming in with a mandate to fatten the bottom line by both increasing ad sales and by trimming the labor force.

The latter worries Dan because he may have to fire salesmen he's handpicked and because his personal obligations prevent him from leaving the firm. His daughter Alex (Scarlett Johansson) is in college, and hidden expenses keep surfacing.

If work is making Dan a wreck, Carter's personal life makes the office seem cheery in comparison. His wife (Selma Blair) has tired of his ceaseless devotion to work. Even a new Porshe can't seem to make his caffeine-drenched life any more bearable. He doesn't win any points with Dan when he begins to take his frustrations to Alex.

Grace manages to imbue Carter with enough vulnerability to make him sympathetic even though his initial demands of his coworkers are far from reasonable. It's a pleasure waiting for him to discover his inner mensch.
Quaid, in turn, manages to make Dan seem principled but not saintly. While Dan's obviously a caring father and husband, his anxieties about his own mortality frequently drive his wife (Marg Helgenberger) and daughters crazy.

Weitz and his crew also bring in some subtle technical touches that put a viewer inside Dan or Carter's heads. There's a fun sequence where Weitz follows Carter as he tries out his new wheels. With some raucous music and quick editing, viewers feel the same rush he does.

What makes "In Good Company" memorable, though is the uncanny accuracy of Weitz's portrayal of the modern white-collar workplace. At times, the film reminded me of a couple of companies where I worked.

Like one of these offices, the new owner hampered a profitable business with expectations that have nothing to do with what made the business work in the first place. At another employer, we had a visit from our new CEO who made an empty speech not unlike the one Teddy K delivers in the movie. In both addresses, the alleged financial mastermind only succeeded in confusing and alienating his subordinates instead of motivating them.

"In Good Company" also captures the almost cult-like following some of these raiders like Teddy K attract. Their lackeys tend to be more excited about deal making or financial one-upmanship that with actually delivering something of value to a consumer. These followers, like an abrasive one played by Clark Gregg from "State and Main," spout the word "synergy" the way most people yell "Hallelujah!" in church.

Every now and then, Weitz has his characters going off in monologues that tell us what we've already seen. He usually gets more mileage out of Grace and Quaid's faces than he does out of these speeches.

Nonetheless, the film's hopeful conclusion thankfully mirrors one of the companies who used to employ me. Likewise, "In Good Company" allows viewers to witness the madness of the modern workplace without despairing about it.

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originally posted: 01/19/05 16:12:25
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