Up In The Air 030910

George Clooney has an interesting job. He fires people for a living. Whenever someone doesn’t have the balls to fire someone themselves, they call his firm and he flies to do the dirty deed. The sad part is he enjoys it. He has no friends and no contact with his family. Not only that, he’s trying to break into the lecture circuit by telling people that the way to go is to have no connections in life. All he’s living for right now is becoming the seventh person to ever reach the 10,000,000 frequent flyer mile mark. But his life is turned upside down when a new girl, both at his firm and to Hollywood, suggests to the manager going completely digital and removing the need to fly anywhere. This is a problem because it destroys his chances of reaching his mark as well as keep him from running into his recent acquaintance Alex, a woman he’s drawn to because she’s just like him. George convinces his boss the new girl doesn’t know anything about the real world of firing people which lands him the responsibility of bringing her as a tag along.

I really liked this movie considering the slow pacing and the faux indy look it went for. I actually found the musical opening credits very entertaining as well. The director is Jason Reitman of Juno fame and it’s great to see that while the humor is similar, this is not a teen movie. This is more of an adult dramedy and it’s great that he’s not stuck in a mold. George Clooney does a great job of playing a character that you should despise but instead pity because he’s sad and doesn’t know it. The new girl, Anna Kendrick, I didn’t want to like her, because all she’s done other than this is the Twilight series and... blech (rifftrax.com. Go there if you share my opinion). But, she has now been added to my list of young actresses to keep an eye on. A: she’s adorable and B: she’s actually very good. She easily holds her own in scenes with veteran actors George Clooney and Jason Bateman, seeming very comfortable around them and in front of the camera.

The bad. The pacing was a little slow and as you know I’m not a fan of the whole indy movement. Somehow they all feel like the director is spitting on your music taste and saying you should like these bands instead. The movie also had a somewhat open ending, and you’re not entirely sure what happens. You know George has been pushed to change but you’re not sure if he will. The R rating was also unnecessary. It deserved it because of the language but had they toned down on that just a little, it could have easily received a PG-13 and been just as good. Not really a point against the movie, just the marketing team. These are minor critiques in an otherwise enjoyable movie.

B+. A great date night movie, that you’ll also want to buy at discount because the urge to see it again will probably hit you randomly.