Really Surprised!

Purely Joyful Movie!

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Dan (Dennis Quaid) is a 51 year old executive in a sports magazine who learns that his company has been bought by entrepreneur Teddy K. One of Teddy's disciple Steckle (Clark Gregg) is tapped to run the magazine. Young enthusiastic Carter Duryea (Topher Grace) is the new head of ad sales even though he doesn't have any experience with sports. There are layoffs and it's not a good time. His wife Ann (Marg Helgenberger) is pregnant and his daughter Alex (Scarlett Johansson) is transferring into the more expensive NYU. Meanwhile Carter's wife Kimberly (Selma Blair) leaves him. The young Carter takes Dan as his wingman and Alex as his new girlfriend.Both Quaid and Grace give good performances. Topher is channeling some yapping nervous puppy while Dennis is perfectly annoyed. They are more than simple one dimensional characters. They have heart. They have feelings. The story is simplistic at times. It wraps up in a Hollywood happy ending but it doesn't feel false. Like Steckle says, business can be so arbitrary. It's kind of a rom-com except it's between Quaid and Grace.

Dennis Quaid is an actor I've pretty much tried to ignore over the years. It may be that the movies he selected to appear in did not usually appeal to me. However, there have been a couple of films lately -- including this film -- that has made me re-look at Quaid...and I'm becoming more and more impressed.Also, I looked at Topher Grace as that kid on a television series I didn't care for. But I'm impressed with him here. Gotta reexamine that too! Scarlett Johansson is lovely and a fine actress. Just 20 when she made this film, she is racking up quite a list of films to her credit. I can see why.Clark Gregg is good here as a sort of shyster executive. And I always appreciate David Paymer...here as a down-and-out (or is he) ad man.In terms of the story, it's a pretty decent one. A new company buys up a sports magazine and put Topher Grace in charge, even though he's younger and not very experience. Upheavals come, and he begins to look at one of the old-timers (although he's only 52 in the move...Quaid) as a father figure...but also falls in love with Quaid's daughter. Quite a dilemma for Quaid. The one thing in this movie that I really fault is whether it would be very likely that Quaid's character would be quite so abrasive and on the verge of quitting when he has just taken out a second mortgage on his house and his wife is having a baby; not very likely...although it makes the story work.Recommended. I really enjoyed it.

This movie was reaching for something but then stops and tries to muddle through as a comedy, which it is not. It is a hard sell to make light of people losing their jobs and playing up to bosses, and the phoniness of the corporate world. Yet, this is what this movie tries to do, with mixed results. Dennis Quaid and Topher Grace are good as the middle aged guy and the much younger upstart who find themselves in an awkward business relationship The story revolves around their relationship, which provides the basis for some satirical swipes at the institution of the family, parent-child relations, adolescent issues, middle-age crisis and the coldness of the corporate world. The problem is that the movie tries to treat all these problems as fluff, and as a result, the movie comes off as superficial. Comedy means making people laugh, but it's hard to laugh at people in crisis.

Honest. Unpredictable... not neat and tidy like many romantic comedies. Outside of one Steely Dan song, the soundtrack makes the movie feel a bit slow-- however... the one liners make up for it. Carter (Grace) has one line to Alex (Johannson) while in her dorm room that is just awesome... think As Good as it Gets awesome... will purchase this one... It had a Good Will Hunting (one of my faves) feel to it... those are rare. Great date movie as well. It is more than a renter. See this one in the theater. Simply put, a great flick. It is so often that one (me anyway) sits in a theater able to predict the next line, action, etc. It is refreshing to walk away satisfied with an ending one could not have guessed.