Hoping for a good movie in January is kind of like waiting for that snowstorm in May: The odds are just stacked against you. After studios drop their high-profile Oscar contenders in December, they typically dump surefire stinkers in the beginning of the new year ("Elektra" anyone?). However, every now and then an excellent film will come along this season and surprise you. "In Good Company" is not one of these films, but not for a lack of trying.
After the corporate buyout of his sports magazine, the boss, 51-year-old Dan Foreman (Quaid), is demoted, and 26-year-old whiz kid Carter Duryea (Grace) becomes the new head honcho. After downsizing and policy changes revolving around corporate synergy, Dan is left frustrated playing second fiddle. Things intensify as Carter begins a fleeting romance with Dan's 18-year-old daughter in college, Alex (Johansson).
Writer/director Paul Weitz is coming off his successful 2002 film "About A Boy," and has teamed up with an excellent cast that boasts Johansson, Grace, Philip Baker Hall, Selma Blair and character actor David Paymer of "Quiz Show" and "City Slickers" (one half of the Ben & Jerry knock-offs).
One thing about Weitz is that he certainly loves montage. The movie has about five too many, each paralleling Dan's and Carter's lives. There's even more than one montage set to a Shins song (look out Zach Braff).
"In Good Company" doesn't take the predictable road it could have, but there's hardly anything there that can really engage viewers past the first 45 minutes. Grace, the lead dork of "That '70s Show," is a talented young actor, but he seems to play within one character. You can't help but think that somehow Eric Foreman jumped out of the '70s and got a job selling ad pages for a sports magazine.
On the plus side, just as Badly Drawn Boy provided songs for "About A Boy," "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" songsmith Stephen Trask provides the score for this film.
"In Good Company" is overwhelmingly Hollywood, but this isn't completely a bad thing. Despite its odd foray into tastelessness - at one point Quaid finds it necessary to moon a roomful of people - it's altogether bearable despite the "lessons" learned.
