The Company Men (2010)
My best friend from college and I loved going shopping at the mall. Our trademark was to look at an outfit in a clothing store and remark while shaking our heads, “This had potential.”
The Company Men had potential. During a recession, when people were losing their jobs right and left, and corporate men were easy “bad guy” targets, wouldn’t it be a natural hit to make a movie about three men who face cuts and unemployment? I’ll tell you the problem in two words: Ben Affleck. His character was given the most screen time, and he was utterly unlikable. During a job interview, he blows up at the interviewer because it isn’t going well and he’s irritated that he flew a long way to try for the job. With an attitude problem like that, I wouldn’t hire him either. After his outburst, when he learns he doesn’t get the job (this isn’t really a spoiler, it’s a no-brainer) the audience is supposed to feel sorry for him. Didn’t work for me. The entire time, I kept thinking the man needed therapy to deal with his anger and Daddy issues, and I wasn’t rooting for him to succeed.
Despite a strong cast, including Chris Cooper, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner, and Craig T. Nelson, the script plays out like a bad television movie. If Hollywood had taken out a little of the cheese, added another dimension to most of the characters, and cut out Ben Affleck’s role, it would have been much better.
More Kevin Costner movies here!
The Company Men had potential. During a recession, when people were losing their jobs right and left, and corporate men were easy “bad guy” targets, wouldn’t it be a natural hit to make a movie about three men who face cuts and unemployment? I’ll tell you the problem in two words: Ben Affleck. His character was given the most screen time, and he was utterly unlikable. During a job interview, he blows up at the interviewer because it isn’t going well and he’s irritated that he flew a long way to try for the job. With an attitude problem like that, I wouldn’t hire him either. After his outburst, when he learns he doesn’t get the job (this isn’t really a spoiler, it’s a no-brainer) the audience is supposed to feel sorry for him. Didn’t work for me. The entire time, I kept thinking the man needed therapy to deal with his anger and Daddy issues, and I wasn’t rooting for him to succeed.
Despite a strong cast, including Chris Cooper, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner, and Craig T. Nelson, the script plays out like a bad television movie. If Hollywood had taken out a little of the cheese, added another dimension to most of the characters, and cut out Ben Affleck’s role, it would have been much better.
More Kevin Costner movies here!