Up In The Air

"Make no mistake - life is moving"

I was lucky enough today to come across a screener for the new George Clooney movie 'Up in the Air' which has been getting alot of good buzz and made most critic's top ten list for 2009. Personally I am one of those people who has a bit of a man crush on my boy George. He seems like he would be a cool guy to hang out with like Brad Pitt does. He may be the biggest asshole in the world but he doesn't come across as that. Even if he occasionally did dickish things all it takes to make it all better is that boyish grin and 'who me?' shy glance. I can see how so many of the world's most beautiful women fall into his bed. He will never be married because he doesn't NEED marriage like us mortals need marriage and family to justify our existence. He could have went the action star route when he was younger but choose to pursue the leading man stream in his movie career. I always got the impression that it was because he was just too cool to be bothered with all that sweat.


George plays Ryan Bingam, a guy who works for a company that specializes in telling people that they have been fired to prevent their bosses from having to do this unpleasant chore. He is called a 'transitional specialist'. He lives on the road and hates the confinement of staying in one place. Family life is his worst nightmare. His life is so orderly and organized that he can rush right through airports, car rental places and hotels with virtually nothing impeding his swift progress. The montage of him going through security is a rehearsed dance. The airplanes and airports are 'home' to him. Bingam is the one man who lives in a world where the travel and hospitality industry works as it SHOULD work but never does. If anything this movie made me more reluctant to travel because I would want my experience to be like his - not the nightmare that it always is for me and most of us.

The highlight of the movie is definitely the dialogue which is sharply written and very knowing about people, especially high functioning orderly people who don't have the time for small talk or patience to have their routine disrupted. Of course a women with these characteristics would be viewed as a gift from heaven by our boy. Luckily for him, he has such a women in virtually every place he goes.


After years of this "carefree, take only what you can carry, leave any extraneous behind kind of life" he receives a shock. His company is planning to change their entire business model of having a group of people flying around the country for most of the year to fire people thus throwing a huge monkey wrench into the orderly mechanism of George's life. The changing model would find him communicating with the people getting fired via video conference. He would never have to travel again to do his job.

He is then forced by his boss to take the very uptight, college educated go-getter with NO experience with him on one of his trips. It was her idea to use video conferencing. He wants nothing to do with her but decides to show her what kind of job he does in the hopes that she will not support change just to improve the company's bottom line. He hopes she will see that what he does is an art and that the people being fired deserve the unique kind of in person treatment he gives them.

I would be remise if I didn't mention the superb work done in this picture by Vera Farmington as George's off and on love interest and Anna Kendrick as Natalie, the young woman George tries to mentor and show that the old ways are sometimes the best ways.

I can see this movie easily winning a best picture Oscar if people are too timid to give 'The Hurt Locker' it's deserved award. It is that good a blend of comedy and drama with great writing and a great cast. The feeling I had afterwards were the same as I had with 'As Good As It Gets' with Jack Nicolson. Clooney is so effortless in this role (like James Renner in 'The Hurt Locker') you forget he's even acting. I hope he isn't overlooked in the best actor category. I had no strong desire to see this film but I was sold on it by the end. Its a smart adult picture for adult film fans who, like me, appreciate something without explosions at this time of year.