The Company Men

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source: The Company Men

This is a well done film that shows the impact of today's economy on a variety of individuals, mostly from the same company. Add in a bit of the corporate greed theme and there you have it - a somewhat depressing view of today's work world. This is a bit different from other films of this ilk in that it also delves into the higher executive ranks and the impact decisions made for "shareholder value" has to all levels of an organization. A thoroughly depressing film that takes on a very serious issue and generally succeeds. Perhaps this should be mandatory viewing for all with the power over the careers of others. Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper and Craig T. Nelson all do extremely well in their roles as does Kevin Costner, although he strains a bit on his New England accent early in the film. All in all, a very nice film of a very depressing subject.

As someone who has lived through this mess of an economy, and has been through downsizing to the point of losing my own job, I went to see this with more than a passing knowledge of 'what it is all about'. The movie is a study of the 5 stages of grief by Kubler-Ross. You should google her and read up a little about her theory before you see the movie, since it is the framework for the movie. We see anger, denial, acceptance, etc., in the 3 main characters. There are several things that seem very wrong, perhaps the main thing being the luxurious lifestyles of the families with only 1 wage earner who is making maybe about $175,000 a year. You cannot drive a porsche and live in a 5,000 square foot home on that income. The first time you see Chris Cooper you know what is going to happen with that character. Its just a matter of time. Kevin Costner is his always dependable self ... a truly awful actor. He speaks all his lines as if he is reading them aloud for the first time. A dreary monotone; no inflection or emotion in any single syllable. Ben Affleck is a serviceable actor, but not of star quality. Jones does his one dimensional schtick of the grumbly older man. He's the un-funny Walter Matthau. His affair with Bello made the audience groan out loud. The actresses who played the 3 wives were all good. Conclusion ... this is a better story than it is a movie.

"The Company Men" is one of those that really showcases what it's been like the last couple of years especially in the corporate world of how the layoffs and downsizing have affected many families and the lives of other people. It shows that it's tough when you fall down and that life is hard when you have to adjust economically really one has to rediscover their fate and way of living. Set in Boston at the height of the economic crisis and collapse director John Wells paints a pretty and somewhat unpleasant picture of how the corporate world changes many lives by downsizing. It centers around the lives of three men who work at a corporate company GTX. And top sells leader Bobby Walker(Ben Affleck)all of a sudden one day is canned and let go as the company can't afford to pay his salary as demands and stocks fall along with the sales of GTX. Then next is a veteran manager Phil Woodward(Chris Cooper)a man who somewhat is cut in the back and let go in a harsh way. And this greatly affects the life of both it even drives Phil to a deadly depression. And Bobby's world is turned upside down as going from $120,000 a year to roughly $60,000 to maybe $80,000 is a big drop. As it affected Bobby's money world no more golf lessons, gone is the expensive car and maybe Patriot tickets. Heartfelt and life changing is seeing Bobby take up working construction for his wife's brother(Kevin Costner)going from suit and tie to hard hat! The wild card and conflicted character in the movie is veteran GTX manager Gene McClary(Tommy Lee Jones)a man who's loyal yet hard headed for the company in the meantime deep down Gene knows what's going on at GTX is not right. Plus McClary is a very conflicted man he's stressed plus he's cheating on his wife with a company employee the sexy and elegant Sally Wilcox(Maria Bello). During it all the trio of men feel the highs and lows of life and it's ever changing economic and social climates. Really it's a time to ponder and rediscover as it proves for both Bobby and Gene it's never late to start over even if it is less still it's a change and rediscovery of happiness. Overall good film that captures the reality of the corporate and economic recessions of the last few years it's so true of how companies do downsizing of their men which alters and changes lives forever.

John Wells, well known for being the show-runner behind long running hits, The West Wing and ER, writes and directs this fantastic film about corporate downsizing and how affects the lives of three men. Set in Boston, Massachusetts, a fictional company, GTX, is reeling from the economic crisis and is cutting jobs left and right to appease shareholders in an attempt to drive up their stock price. The scene to open the movie is quite powerful in the way it captures the feeling of "this sort of thing can happen to anybody, when you least expect it". The movie stars Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, and Chris Cooper. Each actor plays the role of an employee at GTX, with Jones' character being someone in executive management, Cooper's a notch or so below him, and Affleck as a highly paid salesman. These characters don't have too much interaction on screen, the film examines more the relationships between themselves and their families, neighbors, and communities. The three actors turn in pretty incredible performances, and its a wonder that the film wasn't released earlier in 2010 to be eligible for awards consideration. Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, and Rosemarie DeWitt also play pivotal roles in the film and do superior jobs at being enrapturing and authentic. The film reminds me a lot of, Up in the Air, and perhaps that's the reason it wasn't released for awards consideration, but instead for commercial ambitions, because Reitman's already did that. But, it's very different than the prior film in how it depicts the lives of those higher up the corporate ladder and the descent that occurs when one's income disappears. Critics can take shots at Wells pacing of the movie, but it's no easy feat to write and direct a major motion picture and I believe he does an excellent job at showing and challenging several aspects of American culture and lifestyle. Definitely, worth a watch. http://reelpopcorn.blogspot.com

Well I probably am one of the first to see this movie, because of the fact it has not come out yet in theaters. I was able to see this due to someone I know who was given a preview DVD to review this film. To start off I would like to say that Ben Affleck's acting career has finally been rising, and has been getting a bunch of publicity. From the guy from two awful films Armageddon and Reindeer Games, since Affleck's role as Doug MacRay in "The Town". Affleck has really been on a role. His latest character Bobby Walker in "The Company Men" was another great performance to add to his best films. "The Company MEn" deals with a very heavy topic which is the recession we are in these days, and how 1000's and 1000's of workers and employees are being fired to reduce pay in companies. Ben Affleck plays Bobby Walker a big stock broker who was just fired, and is having many obstacles thrown in his way trying to find a new job. I find the topic to be correctly used, due to the fact that this deals with what is going on right now as we speak, it really is correct to put this movie in theaters the time it did. The acting was superb, I mean really you got all these academy award winners, Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee- Jones, Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner, I mean honestly a great ensemble of a cast in a great movie can really generate a crowd. When the movie is released on January 21st I expect it to do well in it's box office debut and come out with at least 20 million in ticket sales. Guys this movie is a definite must see movie, not only because it's a great movie, but it helps you understand to not take things for granted, and helps you understand the hardships of how people like Affleck's character "Bobby Walker", deal with being laid off from work and having a hard time getting a job. I give this film a 8 out of 10 stars, the reason i only give it an eight is because I want to save my 10 out of 10 stars for movies that are on the ball perfect.

(Synopsis) When the GTX Corporation must cut jobs to improve the company's balance sheet during the 2010 recession, thousands of employees like Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) will take the hit. The company really doesn't care about their employees who have given many years of loyal and faithful service. To the company they are not faces, but only numbers. Bobby learns the real life consequences of not having a job. Not only does he see a change in his family lifestyle, and the loss of his home, but also his feelings of self-worth. (My Comment) This is a story of what many workers in the U.S. are enduring during the present economic crisis. Many companies are cutting jobs by the thousands to placate their shareholders by reducing the company's employee overhead and hopefully driving up their stock price. Actually the movie shows the hardships and what can happen to anyone, including people in management, when they no longer have a job. It first affects them internally, then their families, and finally the communities they live in. Out of work people first resist changing their lifestyles, then they go into denial, and finally acceptance of the hand they have been dealt. Ben Affleck's outstanding performance of enduring disappointment of not finding a job and worry for not providing for his family proved this point. The moral of the story is that we should not take our jobs for granted. (The Weinstein Company, 1:49 Rated R) (7/10)

Is this really the nearest Hollywood comes to understanding the real world - and the economic 'downturn' ? A bunch of more corporate, unsympathetic characters you could not hope to imagine but they are all forced to embark on a voyage of discovery by heartless, cost-cutting conglomerates who have the audacity to fire executives further up the chain. Chris Cooper (normally brilliant) discovers that more elderly people may struggle to find employment in the workplace whilst Ben Affleck (not normally brilliant) is made to realise that people wear gloves at work, have to carry heavy things and don't even go out to lunch on their breaks. Tommy Lee Jones just looks surly and grouches a lot... though his millions of dollars of shares increase in value, thank goodness. The huge house and top-of-the-range German cars are on the line though as times get truly 'slightly uncomfortable' but thankfully it's Afflecks' sons' X-Box that goes first and the awful step down to manual labour doesn't seem so bad when you can master the wielding of a nail-gun in five minutes flat. Corporate America is often an ugly thing, and this trite, patronising offering is no exception. It is almost nauseating in its' attempt to extract some sort of audience feeling for these greedy, grasping corporate 'executives'. Who cares ?