The Company Men
John Wells
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Plot Summary
High-powered sales exec Bobby Walker (Academy-Award®-winner Ben Affleck) is living the American dream: great job, beautiful family, and shiny Porsche in the garage. But when corporate downsizing leaves him and co-workers Phil Woodward (Academy-Award®-winner Chris Cooper) and Gene McClary (Academy-Award®-winner Tommy Lee Jones) jobless, he must redefine his life as a man, a husband and a father. Bobby soon finds himself enduring enthusiastic life coaching, a job building houses for his brother-in-law (Academy-Award®-winner Kevin Costner) that does not play to his executive skill set, and - perhaps – the realization that there is more to life than chasing the bigger, better deal. With humor, pathos, and keen observation, writer-director John Wells (TV’s ER, TV’s THE WEST WING) introduces us to the new realities of American life in this story hailed by The New Yorker as “one of the year’s best films.”
Credits
Director
Movie Reviews from Rotten Tomatoes
TOMATOMETER
67%- Reviews Counted: 156
- Fresh: 105
- Rotten: 51
- Average Rating: 6.4/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Rotten: Everything is pat, from the stereotyped characters (Kevin Costner plays the noble blue-collar worker) to the obvious plot turns.
Fresh: The Company Men will connect with anyone for whom "the new reality" of today's economy hits close to home. But anyone looking for insights deeper than the business world cliches in writer-director John Wells' film may find this a sermon easily tuned out.
Fresh: Takes an unpopular group - upper management! - and humanises their involvement in screwing the world. Quite the achievement, really.
Fresh: A serious, schematic, well-acted film about adjusting to new lifestyles in a changing world...
Customer Reviews
Exceptionally good movie, loved it!
Given the recent climate of unemployment and layoffs in the US and elsewhere, this movie drives home the point that there's so much more to life than just chasing the so-called "American Dream". Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Kevin Costner give especially good performance in the movie and Maria Bello is the characteristically hot executive. Watch this movie, you won't regret it.
Vacuous
This movie is terrible. Story line is tired, plot is meaningless. Basic message: if you have a high paying job your life is great. Lose that high-paying job and your life is now crap. Get a job and your life will be good again. No redefining your life. No redefining your ideals. Main character doesn't learn anything. Watch Lemonade if you want to see an inspiring movie about people who've taken job loss and used it to create their own businesses, pursue their creative talents, and make the world a little bit better.
Important, underated film.
"The Company Men" explores the true-world life of many Americans today. It shows the effects of unemployment on our country's families, and how they rise above it.
The story pretty much explains itself through the trailer, three men and their families become victims of unemployment, and things start to get really down for them. They start to see through all of it what's really important in life, having a family and friends to help you get back up on your feet. It's emotional and sometimes a little funny, but a great story altogether.
Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, and Tommy Lee Jones all give top-notch performances, with a wonderful supporting cast to back them up. Really no flaws in any of the performences from what I can tell.
So as a whole, while "The Company Men" can be a hard film to watch, it has an important message and a heart-felt story. Those who go see this will leave feeling rather uplifted. Thumbs up.
"In America, we give our lives to our jobs. It's time to take them back" - "The Company Men" Tagline
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- $14.99
- Genre: Drama
- Released: 2011
- © 2010 Company Men Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
