I loved this movie. As an initial matter, it's important to note that for people who have only seen the 30 second tv spots instead of the trailer, you may mistakenly believe the story is primarily focused on the budding relationship between Carter Duryea (Topher Grace) and Alex Foreman (Scarlett Johansson). Don't be fooled, this is a sub plot. So, don't go to this movie thinking it's a romantic comedy or a "date movie." The true story behind this movie is the relationship between Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid) and Duryea and how their individual lives are affected by the uneasy professional situation they find themselves in.
Dan is a 51 year-old sales executive for Sports America, a leading sports magazine (basically Sports Illustrated). He is troubled by declining sales in what he is told is a more technology driven world medium that has little interest in print advertising.
Carter is a 26 year-old businessman trying to impress his superiors and move up the corporate ladder. You meet him as he wrapping up a very successful business proposal involving cell phones designed for 5 year-olds (yes, I said successful). He is informed that he is being "groomed" by corporate powers for a prominent role in the company's future. This company is an international powerhouse which has it's roots in a multitude of very different industries and is run by a very Rupert Murdoch like character.
Carter's company purchases Sports America and he is put in charge of the sales division, a position formerly filled by Dan. After an initial period of well-portrayed awkwardness between Carter and everyone at Sports America, Carter and Dan settle into their new roles. But as they settle into their new professional lives, they find their previously stable personal lives turned upside-down.
Carter finds that his new job and new (albeit damaged) Porche are all he has in life after his wife of 7 months leaves him (ending in divorce). On the other side, Dan deals with the reduced salary, an unplanned baby on the way, and his daughter, Alex, who decides to transfer colleges to ultra-expensive NYU.
This is where Carter and Dan realize how much they need each other. Carter begins pushing his way into Dan's personal life to try to fill in his non-existent personal life, while Dan reluctantly goes along with it for job security. This is how Carter and Alex get to know each other which results in a love interest. The remainder of the film is devoted to the increasing pressure on the Sports America sales team to produce new revenue with the side issue of the Carter/Alex relationship and how it is hidden from Dan.
Here's why I liked this movie. It had the right blend of humor without being unrealistic or ridiculous. You understood what Dan and Carter were going through and felt the stresses that they were confronted with. Quaid and Grace played their characters perfectly and you really liked them. With Carter, you could easily have grown to hate him because you thought he was undeserving or too materialistic. Instead, the film reminded you of your own life and when you were given that first "big break." Or maybe you are still waiting for that break and see a little bit of how you would act if given the opportunity. Sure you'd be excited, maybe you would splurge a little and buy a few luxury items (maybe not a Porsche, but it's all proportional). With Quaid, you could see that his primary concern the entire film was the effect on his family. Many films would get caught up in the crushed ego his character would likely have, but this one realistically portrayed what 99% of people in the same situation would feel - the concern for the stability and future of the family. The film only briefly endulged in the ego issue when Carter and Dan initially met, and then simply poked fun at it after that.
As for the humor in the film, Grace was genuinely funny. I don't watch "That 70's Show" so I was not familiar with his personality before this. His style of humor was geared towards younger adults (20-35), which I like, but it didn't take center stage. It was used sparingly and appropriately, balanced out by Quaid's realistic reactions to Carter's comments which showed the generational gap (i.e. "awesome wingman" comment).
Finally, the resolutions to the plot and subplots in this movie were all decently satisfying. Without getting into spoilers, Dan's future at Sports America, Carter's career path, and Carter's relationship with Alex were all realistically written. My only major problem was with the "mission" Dan and Carter embarked on near the end of the movie to make one last attempt to drum up sales. However, this was nullified when they returned to Sports America to find some major changes. As a result, we will never know whether this mission would have made any difference (which is good because in the real corporate world, it wouldn't have). Other than that, the only other thing I absolutely hated was the poor editing of the Peter Gabriel song near the end. It sounded completely truncated and distracted the viewer from the meaning of the images on-screen. Now, I'm not opposed to song editing, I think it's necessary at times and can be very beneficial. However, the worst part about this one is that they could have just let the song run from the beginning and achieved the affect they wanted. Poor work in my opinion.
All in all, a very good movie. B+
