Director Paul Weitz takes us on a journey through trying times with the film In Good Company. Dennis Quaid stars as the All-American father figure, Dan Foreman, who is demoted from his executive position with a sports magazine company to pave the way for a younger, less experienced, Carter Duryea (Topher Grace). As the lonely Grace and impatient Quaid are forced to co-exist, Grace begins to fall for Quaid's daughter, Alex Foreman (Scarlett Johansson).
In this tale of personal growth and perseverance, our characters are met with internal and external conflicts in their personal and business lives. With a wife expecting their third child, Quaid is forced to conform to a new administration in his business to provide for his family. The recently divorced Topher Grace begins to fill the void in his young life with non-stop working fueled by large amounts of caffeine. When these two characters run into each other in the beginning, it is as if Weitz is showing two worlds colliding, foreshadowing the upcoming struggles. Quaid is very impressive in the sense that the viewer knows through his body language how uncomfortable he is with the clingy and chatty Grace as his boss.
I like how a medium shot is used in filming Quaid and Grace. Despite the age difference, Weitz is able to show an equality of success between the two (Quaid with advertising sales and Grace with marketing).
You could not have a better choice than Topher Grace to fulfill this role as an inexperienced corporate executive whose attempts to fit in are met with great hesitation. His adolescence becomes apparent with foolish purchases of sports cars and the constant use of slang by saying "tasty" when things are going his way. Emptiness within him does become noticeable, as he is quick to fall in love with the beautiful Scarlett Johansson. (Who wouldn't be quick to fall in love with her?) As for Quaid, his character works on both a movie and reality level. On one hand he is Dan Foreman, the man who is hesitantly stepping back to make way for the young guns that are taking over his team at the advertising agency. On the other hand, he is Dennis Quaid, the fifties something actor who is passing the torch to a younger generation of actors in Toper Grace and Scarlett Johansson. Growth in most cases, means major change.
Despite a PG-13 rating, I would recommend this as a family film simply because of the sugar sweet moments that can put things in perspective for the viewer (Despite a couple F bombs here and there). Sometimes, we all get so worried about our financial and employment status that we forget about a very important factor in life love. As Jerry Maguire did in 1996, In Good Company shows us how people grow and feel complete through love and acceptance.
In this tale of personal growth and perseverance, our characters are met with internal and external conflicts in their personal and business lives. With a wife expecting their third child, Quaid is forced to conform to a new administration in his business to provide for his family. The recently divorced Topher Grace begins to fill the void in his young life with non-stop working fueled by large amounts of caffeine. When these two characters run into each other in the beginning, it is as if Weitz is showing two worlds colliding, foreshadowing the upcoming struggles. Quaid is very impressive in the sense that the viewer knows through his body language how uncomfortable he is with the clingy and chatty Grace as his boss.
I like how a medium shot is used in filming Quaid and Grace. Despite the age difference, Weitz is able to show an equality of success between the two (Quaid with advertising sales and Grace with marketing).
You could not have a better choice than Topher Grace to fulfill this role as an inexperienced corporate executive whose attempts to fit in are met with great hesitation. His adolescence becomes apparent with foolish purchases of sports cars and the constant use of slang by saying "tasty" when things are going his way. Emptiness within him does become noticeable, as he is quick to fall in love with the beautiful Scarlett Johansson. (Who wouldn't be quick to fall in love with her?) As for Quaid, his character works on both a movie and reality level. On one hand he is Dan Foreman, the man who is hesitantly stepping back to make way for the young guns that are taking over his team at the advertising agency. On the other hand, he is Dennis Quaid, the fifties something actor who is passing the torch to a younger generation of actors in Toper Grace and Scarlett Johansson. Growth in most cases, means major change.
Despite a PG-13 rating, I would recommend this as a family film simply because of the sugar sweet moments that can put things in perspective for the viewer (Despite a couple F bombs here and there). Sometimes, we all get so worried about our financial and employment status that we forget about a very important factor in life love. As Jerry Maguire did in 1996, In Good Company shows us how people grow and feel complete through love and acceptance.