Jul 05 2011
Red Box Review– The Company Men #redbox #moviereview
The Company Men (2010– 104 mins) B. Affleck, Tommy Le Jones, C. Cooper 
So many times when we watch movies, we get involved with trying to figure everything out. Some of those times while doing this we are trying to follow complex and convoluted story lines. Occasionally you get a film which is more of a story unfolding we are watching, rather then trying to be part of it or figure it all out. “The Company Men” is one such story film. It’s one that you enjoy b/c you are not so much involved and busy working with the plot as you are just sitting there and watching it all unfold. That’s a welcome change for a movie.
We spend the film following the “Men” whom all work for the same large corporation, in one year of their lives. Ben Affleck is the hot shot salesman of the year on the east coast who is abruptly let go in a downsizing. Chris Cooper is his immediate superior who is not sure if his time has come, and at his age it has made him quite paranoid at his potential propositions. And finally, Tommy Lee Jones is the best friend of the owner/founder of the company and also is his second in command. His affair with the company’s chief downsizing czar brings him increasingly close to the downsizing info and has him uncomfortable as to how his friend is running the company. The movie flows from the initial introductions to the key players to following them after the initial windfall of lay-off.
What starts simply as the bombshell layoff to Affleck then continues with the stunning fact that even a cocky hot-shot like him cannot find a job in this day. We get a ton of character development and growing but it’s not easy for any of them. I don’t want to go into more of it without spoiling it. Yet, take my word that it is a very enjoyable ride. It’s not always a happy one b/c it’s a realism movie with realistic often painful depiction of the job market but it still is a very well made, and well acted movie.
Verdict–> This is one that I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s not a movie I would watch a ton or break out at family gatherings, but I did think it was a very good movie. I put it on the top tier recommendation list for the next time you are at the red box.
