In Good Company (2004)

A middle-aged ad exec is faced with a new boss who's nearly half his age... and who also happens to be sleeping with his daughter.

Director:

Paul Weitz

Writer:

Paul Weitz

Stars:

Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson

2 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dennis Quaid	...	Dan
Topher Grace	...	Carter
Scarlett Johansson	...	Alex
Marg Helgenberger	...	Ann
David Paymer	...	Morty
Clark Gregg	...	Steckle
Philip Baker Hall	...	Eugene Kalb
Selma Blair	...	Kimberly
Frankie Faison	...	Corwin
Ty Burrell	...	Enrique Colon
Kevin Chapman	...	Lou
Amy Aquino	...	Alicia
Zena Grey	...	Jana
Colleen Camp	...	Receptionist
Lauren Tom	...	Obstetrician

Storyline

Dan is a 51 year old executive who learns that his company is being restructured and he is being demoted. Carter, who is 26, replaces him. Dan who has two teenage daughters with another on the way, decides to suck it up and work for Carter. Dan and Carter's working relationship is tested when Carter begins a relationship with Alex, who is Dan's daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

watching tv | new boss | magazine | company | executive | 

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Taglines:

He's rich, young and handsome. He's in love with you and he's your dad's boss.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and drug references

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Russia] Universal [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 January 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Synergy

Filming Locations:

7th & Hope Streets, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$26,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$151,750, 2 January 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$45,489,752, 13 March 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures,Depth of Field

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Sports America issue that Dan shows to Eugene Kalb during his sales pitch early in the movie has a cover featuring Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets. The other magazines shown during the movie are on screen too briefly or from too far away to positively identify the cover subject.

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Goofs

When Carter runs into Alex at the coffee shop, he puts down his coffee cup into his lap, but in the next shot he's holding the cup back up by his mouth.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Anchorwoman: After months of speculation, analysts expect an announcement this week that GlobeCom International will acquire Waterman Publishing and its flagship magazine, Sports America. The man at the helm of GlobeCom, billionaire media magnate Teddy K., has been on a spending spree recently, acquiring a food service company, a cable operator, and two telecommunications providers in deals totaling more than $13 billion. And how did one lucky ferret owner come to own the largest dog treat ...

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Connections

References The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

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Soundtracks

Cannonball
(2002)
Written by Damien Rice
Performed by Damien Rice
Courtesy of Vector Recordings LLC / Warner Bros. Records, Inc., 14th Floor Records
By Arrangement with Warner Strategic Marketing and Warner Strategic Marketing UK

User Reviews

Great Film, Lousy Tagline

I caught this gem on a plane, and stayed awake because I really just wanted to watch Scarlett Johansson's lips move. As I found myself being drawn into the story, I began to wonder why I had never heard of this gem before -- now that I see the tag line, I get it: she is in no way the central character, but just a prop -- the real characters are her dad, played by Dennis Quaid, and her dad's boss, played by the kid with the funny name. Both characters are quite believable -- and they arc around each other wonderfully. The real central character is the kid, who is busting his butt to impress himself and his stiff wife, who seems to cringe whenever he is in the room. He is annoying and driven -- but clearly on a path that doesn't suit him. His silly marketing ideas actually seem to work for the kiddie crowd, and he is placed in charge of ad sales for a respected sports magazine -- where he displaces the Quaid character, who is himself juggling a ton of pressures since his lovely daughter (Johansson) is going to NYU and his lovely wife is unexpectedly pregnant. He is dealing with his own ageing, his daughters' both coming of age, his latest confrontation with fatherhood, and now a boy boss -- who begins looking to him for guidance, but also isn't above threatening him if he doesn't play ball. But the Quaid character knows his own core values, and he doesn't deviate from them -- is he a dinosaur, or is the kid a flash in the pan? Well, I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say that the writers on this really knew what they were doing -- as did whoever casted this thing. All conflicts are resolved to my satisfaction -- and that does not mean all the good guys win economically. Also impressive: there are no real bad guys. Even the total heavy, a sort of cartoon Carl Icahn played by Malcomb McDowell, doesn't come off as all that bad. He is just the agent of change... And when bad guys get hit, they become victims. Just a very tight film, with characters you care about. And Scarlett's lips do move exquisitely well...