Sara�s Movie Review Hut! Double Feature edition! ~insert cheesy theme music here~ This week�s entries: In Good Company & The Upside of Anger -- ABCra XYZee

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Date Posted: 13:04:56 08/08/05 Mon
Author: Sara
Subject:

Sara�s Movie Review Hut! Double Feature edition! ~insert cheesy theme music here~ This week�s entries: In Good Company & The Upside of Anger

Disclaimer: These are merely my own opinions, please do not flame me, unfriend me, give me a wedgie or anything similar, but do feel free to try and change my mind. I am not affiliated with any movie reviewer or studio.

Since, this weekend, there just wasn�t really much in the theater that I wanted to see, (Dukes of Hazzard? No. Sky High? Ehhh� Stealth? Groaaann!) I ended up renting a couple comedic dramas to satisfy my movie addict tendencies: In Good Company starring Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, and Scarlett Johansson; and The Upside of Anger starring Joan Allen and Kevin Costner.

We�ll start with IGC:
Here�s the quickie synopsis:

Dan (Quaid), a middle-aged ad sales exec for a successful sports magazine, finds his life turned upside-down when, in a huge corporate buyout, he finds himself demoted and forced to report to an inexperienced boss half his age, Carter (Grace). Company tensions ignite when Dan finds out that his boss has been seeing his eldest daughter behind his back.

My review:

IGC was entertaining, yes, but would I go and shell out $15 on the DVD? Probably not. Mainly because it scared the bejeezus out of me. I�m a marketing major entering my senior year of college, and this film really seemed to highlight the cutthroat nature of the business. Corporate takeovers, instability, and smarmy guys like Steckle make me want to turn tail and run the opposite direction. Lord, I hope I know what I�m getting myself into�but enough of my personal bias, back to the movie.

The acting was wonderful! IGC did a great job of detailing Dan�s personal struggle to be a good father and a good businessman. It�s hard to put yourself in his shoes when having to deal with being replaced by someone young enough to be your son, but throw in a whirlwind romance between your boss and your daughter and you�re just asking for trouble. But Dan�s not the only one facing upheaval in IGC, we get to look in on Carter�s life as well. The movie attempts and succeeds in showing the honest truth in the characters, flaws and all. None of these characters are perfect; there are no heroes and demons (except maybe Steckle, I still think he is evil incarnate).

I really didn�t find IGC to be predictable at all. Being the �happy movie� buff that I am, when I first watched the ending I found it unsatisfying, but then thinking back I realized that it is a happy ending. Everyone ends up happy so that qualifies as a happy ending. Would I see IGC again? Perhaps if someone I knew wanted to see it, but would I go out of my way to see it again? No. To me, it was a good one-time-viewing type of movie, but otherwise� Something just didn�t sit well with me, again maybe my bias is coming into play. Overall, I give IGC 3/5 iced teas with funky little umbrellas in them.

Now, onto TUoA
Here�s the quickie synopsis:

After her husband�s total abandonment of her and her four daughters, Terry (Allen) finds her emotions spinning out of control as she struggles to put her shattered life back together with the help of a has-been baseball player and town drunk (Costner) and a bottle of vodka. Meanwhile, her daughters face both turmoil and life changes as they enter into adulthood and deal with �losing� the mother they knew and loved.

My review:

TUoA sat just about as well with me as IGC. It was a very darkly humorous tale, but it was almost painful to watch Terry drink her pain away. I guess that attests to the acting abilities of the stars of the movie. The comedy and the B-storylines of each of the daughters really lift TUoA from �mediocre� to �meh�. I also took a liking to Costner�s character, Denny, as he tries to help them through their pain (and attract the attentions of Terry). Most of the comedy coincides with his scenes.

Again, the acting was excellent, and this would really be a great movie if you are into movies with a pinch of angst, a dollop of dark comedy, and a smidge of heartache. The characters were very much flawed, very human, and that shown through (Hmm�flawed characters? Am I seeing a pattern developing?).

Without going into details, the ending was quite the shocker. Definitely did not see that one coming! It did add an interesting plot twist, but didn�t really seem to mesh well with tone of the rest of the movie. It stuck out and felt like the writers were grasping at straws to find closure for Terry. Would I see TUoA again? No, most likely not. It was an experience and I really don�t regret seeing it, but it just wasn�t my glass of iced tea. Very melodramatic. But if you like that kind of thing, be my guest! I�m sure you�d love it. Overall, I give TUoA 2.5/5 iced teas with funky little umbrellas in them.

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Replies:

[> The bigger question I would have for you on IGC would be whether you'd spend 19 bucks to get it and Wimbleton at Best Buy (assuming you liked Wimbleton) -- Aria, 17:39:23 08/08/05 Mon [1]

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[> [> Can't say I've ever seen Wimbeldon (The Kirsten Dunst movie, right?) Was it good? -- Sara, 19:02:52 08/08/05 Mon [1]

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[> [> [> I thought it was great - and I wasn't expecting much out of it... I mean ultimately, its like any other chick flick... (I'm making quite a long list of movies I want to get when the dvds come down in price - because everything I've already bought has ALREADY come further down in price) -- Aria, 12:21:40 08/09/05 Tue [1]

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[> I liked In Good Company. It was a surprising film because you go into it expecting a little bit of a Father of the Bride plot----daughter leaving the nest, conflict between the new guy and the dad, etc. But it wasn't---and I liked that. I also love Topher Grace ;) -- C, 17:47:47 08/09/05 Tue [1]

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[> [> LOL I knew you did, hence the disclaimer above. ;) -- Sara, 08:42:32 08/10/05 Wed [1]

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[> [> [> That wasn't a flame! I love you Sara! -- C, 21:30:18 08/10/05 Wed [1]

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[> [> [> [> LOL! I know I know. I'm just giving ya a hard time. I love you too! -- Sara, 00:08:06 08/11/05 Thu [1]

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