December 23, 2004 - Director Paul Weitz continues to expand his horizons since he and his brother Chris first directed the massively succesful American Pie. The brothers wanted to escape the pigeonholes of the teen sex comedy genre and turned down the sequels to focus on more personal stories like Down to Earth and the terrific About a Boy. Now Paul and Chris have decided to work separately and define their individual skills as directors.

Weitz's first film as a solo director is In Good Company. Originally titled Synergy (and thankfully retitled), Dennis Quaid plays Dan Foreman, an aging advertising executive at a popular sports magazine called Sports America. After a corporate merger, the parent company of the magazine is taken over by a large conglomerate called Globecom, lead by its mythical CEO Teddy K (Malcolm McDowell). Globecom brings in some new blood to take over Sports America and Foreman finds he has been demoted. He soon meets his new boss, a 26-year-old hotshot named Carter Duryea (Topher Grace). Carter is fast on the rise at Globecom and sees the opportunity as a stepping stone towards a promising corporate career. Quaid is less than enthused to find that his boss is now half his age. Added to that is the fact that Carter has no clue what to do with the magazine. Carter has problems of his own. While his career is going full force ahead, his wife of only seven months has recently left him. His personal life is virtually nonexistent. He soon latches onto Foreman's idealistic home life and invites himself to dinner at the Foreman house, where he gets to know Foreman's daughter Alex (Scarlett Johansson). The two embark on a secret romance as Carter tries to clasp to a life he soon discovers may not be what he wants at all.

Just like his previous film About a Boy, In Good Company is a story of personal discovery and emotional development. Weitz has cited the influence of The Graduate on his work, and its touch is felt strongly on this film. Heart has been the defining thread of all of the Weitz's work, and yes, I'm talking about American Pie as well. The humor in these stories comes out of reality, out of real events that take place in all of our lives. Okay, maybe not pie sex, but these films all focus on situations that the average person relates to. In Good Company is a personal journey for both lead characters. It is emotionally engaging and pulls some great humor out of life's strangest little moments.

The exact depth of Topher Grace's dramatic range has been somewhat of a question mark after his years on the sitcom That 70's Show and more typical fare such as this this year's Win a Date with Tad Hamilton. In Good Company gives him a real chance to flex his acting skills and he pulls off the performance nicely. Carter is at first a very simple kind of one-dimensional character: The hotshot young jerk who we all know will get his comeuppance in the end. But as we learn more about Carter, we empathize with his journey and understand his motivations and even regrets. Grace plays the character with a nice subtlety and is unafraid to let loose as Carter gradually loses grasp on his surface perfections.

Quaid's Dan Foreman is a character who a lot of people will identify and sympathize with. He is the stereotypical American. He works hard and is dedicated to his job. He has a happy home life with a loving wife and two daughters. He seems to have his grasp on everything important, but control is quickly slipping away from him. He just found out that his wife is pregnant, he's been demoted and introduced to a boss half his age, and his daughter Alex is becoming more independent. He still sees her as the little girl who promised never to lie to him. Quaid is really good in this part. He plays the laughs with a nice subtlety so that they come out of the situation organically, never feeling forced. As the character of Carter becomes increasingly manic, Quaid plays the straight man and gets some of the biggest laughs of the film. Quaid's chemistry with Grace and Johansson is very natural.

	-Universal Pictures

If it is even possible to say so, Scarlett Johansson has never looked more beautiful than she does in this film. This is by no means the most demanding role of her career, but it adds a check mark to a growing range of abilities and nuances for the young actress. She is, quite simply, good in everything she does. She brings an intelligence and subtle wit to each of her roles and is quickly becoming one of the best up and coming actresses going. During a scene in a dorm room between Alex and Carter, Alex lovingly prepares a romantic atmosphere by throwing a pink cloth over a light and turning on music. The scene is very funny, a perfect analogy to the innocence of her character. It's moments like this that made me really crack up and which also define Weitz's talent.

The cast and story make In Good Company a very enjoyable film. There is nothing Earth-shattering about it; it follows a tride and true formula, but that's not always a bad thing. Formula works when it's done well. Weitz has a really uncanny ability to create sympathetic, endearing characters and capture them in the most ludicrous moments in life. In Good Company is a simple film: sweet, funny and very entertaining.

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