Paul Weitz manages to steer away from the expected cliches in "In Good Company," which was not quite what I was expecting (and I mean that in a pleasantly surprised way). Rather than just a satire of business culture or just an indictment of our youth-obsessed culture, the film is more centered around the idea of family -- the fact that, while Dennis Quaid must adjust to being demoted at work, he finds out he's about to be a father once again; while Topher Grace's character, while a success working his way up the corporate ladder, finds his personal life a mess (going back to childhood).
I was actually surprised at how vulnerable Grace's character was; and that, although the movie's marketing campaign played up the fact that Grace starts dating Quaid's daughter (Scarlett Johansson) soon after becoming Quaid's boss, that storyline is really secondary -- and never really fully flushed out (it actually only becomes an issue three-forths of the way through the film, and is then quickly dropped).
The movie also cleans up a little too tidy -- a convenient corporate change renders almost everything you see moot, and Grace's character -- who you believed at the start of the movie was genuinely hungry to climb the corporate ladder -- seems all too willing to give up the rat race.
That's why, in the end, I didn't love the movie as much as I thought I would. But performances by Quaid and Grace are strong, and the relationship between Quaid's family in the pic is refreshing -- nope, no dysfunctions or secrets hidden behind closed doors; just for once, the depiction of an honest-to-goodness healthy, well-rounded family.
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