IMDB Plot Synopsis: With a job that has him traveling around the country firing people, Ryan Bingham leads an empty life out of a suitcase, until his company does the unexpected: ground him.
- Since TIFF all you’ve heard are rave reviews about this movie, so I was surprised to find all the sloppy emotions dealt with so superficially. Perhaps this is because I’ve already seen About A Boy ten million times and the whole “no man is an island” thing (Jon Bon Jovi, too easy!) is far more amusing filtered Hugh Grant’s one-liners than it is through George Clooney’s smirking face, but I had a lot of trouble feeling much sympathy for Ryan. Oh, how tragic for you, you’ve spent your adult life alienating people and keeping them at a distance both personally and as a professional tagline to sell speaking engagements and now you’re all sad-faced at the fact that you’re alone? His revelation — not that I think this is a terribly accurate word to describe it, as it implies something much more miraculous than what we get — that friends and family and loved ones are important and help get you through tough times is exceedingly sentimental. I essentially agree with the basic premise — my sisters are my best friends! — but the execution made me want to hurl. The mad emotional dash to Las Vegas to participate in his sister’s silly request because now he understands Feelings™, the “I’m shocked to discover that achieving an emotionally voided numerical goal doesn’t make me feel fulfilled” moment on the plane when he hit his ten millionth mile, etc.
- Speaking of which, there is nothing worse than baggage metaphors that actually involve… baggage. This was lame in The Darjeeling Limited and the shot of Ryan standing at the Departures board, looking for a flight to anywhere, letting go of the handle of his rolling suitcase was a little too much to bear.
- There were some pretty hysterical lines, but they were few and far between. I enjoyed when Ryan asked Natalie, in the context of his blurry relationship with Alex, if she was familiar with [insert flowery and poetic description of Love™ here] and when she said yes and he said “Well, I’m not”, I died. The “Wow, it’s like firing someone over the internet” joke was funny but you could see it coming a mile away — come on, people, we’ve all seen (or seen commercials on TBS for) the episode of Sex and the City where Berger breaks up with Carrie on a Post-It.
- I enjoy Anna Kendrick. She makes me willing to sit through yet another Twilight movie, but it’s my understanding that Bella’s friends have less and less page time as things go on, so I imagine we wouldn’t see much of her anyway. Jessica > Bella, Edward, Jacob, and everyone else.
- I feel like Jason Bateman’s character was manifested entirely in his suspenders. It’s kind of amazing.
- I really loved Vera Farmiga’s dress at the wedding. The drape on the neckline was lovely.
- I’m so, so, so thrilled that the only way Farmiga’s character, Alex, is allowed to enjoy the exact same sexual freedom as Ryan is for her to be an adulterer. Here I thought it was refreshing that a seemingly single character in her late thirties (we presume) is able to enjoy stop-over sex in middle American cities the same way a man would be able to — that is to say, free of judgment and slut-shaming — but of course I should have been waiting for the other shoe to drop, since she can’t possibly get away with this kind of behaviour without some kind of punishment. In this case, the punishment is Ryan’s (and thus the audience’s) betrayal, heartbreak, and intense judgment for being with Ryan on the road while she’s got kids and husband stashed away in a beautiful home in Chicago. Awesome.
- Enjoyed the scene where Ryan and Alex were comparing all their various frequent flyer and points cards. It even has a watermark! (No, they didn’t say that.)
- Sam Elliott is a welcome addition to any film.
- Enjoyed the title sequence being a bit of an homage to the kinds of bad cities-from-above postcards you invariably find in the giftshops of non-major airports. It had enough brush script to be postcard-y but stayed away from the more cartoonish Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. genre of postcard. The titles for each city also stayed with this theme. (Ultimately, you know I’m a sucker for these things.)
i haven’t seen this, but your first paragraph totally nails why i feel so ho-hum about it. i feel like i *should* see it, because It’s The Most Important Movie of the Year (or was that star trek? or is it avatar!?), but you basically summed it up: Professional Loner Who Now Realizes the Importance of Feelings. *the sound of my eyes rolling* and, damn, first time i watched the trailer i remember thinking, they’re not *really* using airplane baggage to double for emotional baggage, are they? and, alas, they are. seriously? is there a constant quiet storm in the background, too?
blah. also, it can no longer go unmentioned: clooney cannot act. at all. this is another reason why i’m resisting this movie. really, watch batman & robin and then watch any of his Serious Acting movies: is there any difference whatsoever in how he behaves onscreen?
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