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IMDbPro

Up in the Air

  • 20092009
  • RR
  • 1h 49m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
339K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,088
280
George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air (2009)
Ryan Bingham is a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching ten million frequent flyer miles and just after he's met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams.
Play trailer2:33
13 Videos
99+ Photos
ComedyDramaRomance
Ryan Bingham enjoys living out of a suitcase for his job, travelling around the country firing people, but finds that lifestyle threatened by the presence of a potential love interest, and a... Read allRyan Bingham enjoys living out of a suitcase for his job, travelling around the country firing people, but finds that lifestyle threatened by the presence of a potential love interest, and a new hire presenting a new business model.Ryan Bingham enjoys living out of a suitcase for his job, travelling around the country firing people, but finds that lifestyle threatened by the presence of a potential love interest, and a new hire presenting a new business model.
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
339K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,088
280
    • Jason Reitman
    • Walter Kirn(novel)
    • Jason Reitman(screenplay)
    • Sheldon Turner(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • George Clooney
    • Vera Farmiga
    • Anna Kendrick
    • Jason Reitman
    • Walter Kirn(novel)
    • Jason Reitman(screenplay)
    • Sheldon Turner(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • George Clooney
    • Vera Farmiga
    • Anna Kendrick
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 591User reviews
    • 409Critic reviews
    • 83Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 6 Oscars

    Videos13

    Up in the Air: Trailer #2
    Trailer 2:33
    Watch Up in the Air: Trailer #2
    Up in the Air: Teaser Trailer
    Trailer 2:01
    Watch Up in the Air: Teaser Trailer
    'Up in the Air' | Anniversary Mashup
    Clip 1:37
    Watch 'Up in the Air' | Anniversary Mashup
    "Something Real" from Up in the Air
    Clip 0:55
    Watch "Something Real" from Up in the Air
    "I Am Not a Tour Guide" from Up in the Air
    Clip 0:38
    Watch "I Am Not a Tour Guide" from Up in the Air
    "Everyone Needs a Co-Pilot" from Up in the Air
    Clip 2:03
    Watch "Everyone Needs a Co-Pilot" from Up in the Air
    Up in the Air: "Order Five Meals"
    Clip 1:20
    Watch Up in the Air: "Order Five Meals"
    Up in the Air: "Bar Club Cards"
    Clip 1:09
    Watch Up in the Air: "Bar Club Cards"
    Jason Reitman on Up in the Air
    Featurette 2:49
    Watch Jason Reitman on Up in the Air
    Up In The Air
    Interview 0:39
    Watch Up In The Air
    Up In The Air
    Interview 0:37
    Watch Up In The Air
    Up In The Air
    Interview 0:29
    Watch Up In The Air

    Photos102

    George Clooney, Melanie Lynskey, and Danny McBride in Up in the Air (2009)
    Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air (2009)
    George Clooney and Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air (2009)
    Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air (2009)
    George Clooney and Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air (2009)
    George Clooney and Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air (2009)
    George Clooney and Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air (2009)
    Melanie Lynskey and Danny McBride in Up in the Air (2009)
    George Clooney and Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air (2009)
    George Clooney, Melanie Lynskey, and Amy Morton in Up in the Air (2009)
    George Clooney and Jason Reitman in Up in the Air (2009)
    George Clooney and Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air (2009)

    Top cast

    Edit
    George Clooney
    George Clooney
    • Ryan Bingham
    Vera Farmiga
    Vera Farmiga
    • Alex Goran
    Anna Kendrick
    Anna Kendrick
    • Natalie Keener
    Jason Bateman
    Jason Bateman
    • Craig Gregory
    Amy Morton
    Amy Morton
    • Kara Bingham
    Melanie Lynskey
    Melanie Lynskey
    • Julie Bingham
    J.K. Simmons
    J.K. Simmons
    • Bob
    Sam Elliott
    Sam Elliott
    • Maynard Finch
    Danny McBride
    Danny McBride
    • Jim Miller
    Zach Galifianakis
    Zach Galifianakis
    • Steve
    Christopher Lowell
    Christopher Lowell
    • Kevin
    • (as Chris Lowell)
    Steve Eastin
    Steve Eastin
    • Samuels
    Marvin Young
    Marvin Young
    • Young MC
    Cut Chemist
    • Conference DJ
    Adrienne Lamping
    • Tammy
    Meagan Flynn
    Meagan Flynn
    • Flight Attendant
    Dustin Miles
    Dustin Miles
    • Ned
    Tamara Tungate
    • Club Hostess
      • Jason Reitman
      • Walter Kirn(novel)
      • Jason Reitman(screenplay)
      • Sheldon Turner(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      A large number of the people we see fired in the film are not actors, but people who were recently laid off. The filmmakers put out ads in St. Louis and Detroit posing as a documentary crew looking to document the effect of the recession. When people showed up, they were instructed to treat the camera like the person who fired them and respond as they did, or use the opportunity to say what they wished they had. A way to discern who are the actors, and who are the real people, is that the real people do not have dialogue with George Clooney or Anna Kendrick, as they were shot separately. Jason Reitman did this intentionally, feeling that the real people would freak out Clooney and Kendrick.
    • Goofs
      When Ryan asks how many miles a round-the-world flight would cost, he's told it's 500,000 miles. However, on American a first class round-the-world flight costs 300,000 miles (and even less for lower classes).
    • Quotes

      Ryan Bingham: [on the docks in Miami] You know that moment when you look into somebody's eyes and you can feel them staring into your soul and the whole world goes quiet just for a second?

      Natalie Keener: Yes.

      Ryan Bingham: [shrugs] Right. Well, I don't.

      Natalie Keener: you're an asshole.

    • Crazy credits
      Over the end credits, the camera glides over the clouds. Much like the view from a plane.
    • Connections
      Edited into De wereld draait door: Episode #5.84 (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      This Land Is Your Land
      Written by Woody Guthrie

      Performed by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

      Courtesy of Daptone Records

    User reviews591

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Good mix of comedy and dramedy that really makes you think
    Up In the Air Movie Review

    I finally got around to seeing the soon to be Oscar nominated movie, Up In the Air today. A lot of critics are putting it on their lists for top movie of the year and I will have to agree with them. This is a very good movie. It's funny and witty and has some good dramatic moments at the end that really hit you in the stomach. It's one of those rare movies that is fun to watch and makes you think at the end.

    The movie stars George Clooney as Ryan, his job is to travel around the country and fire people personally and hopefully tries to help them move on with their lives. It's an art form that Ryan has perfected over the years and he is really good at it. I will have to warn you not to watch this movie if you have just been fired, because the movie is littered with scenes of people getting fired. Most of the people react in an angry fashion and it's almost comical in way they show these montages. Then there are people that react with a sadness and desperation that really makes you feel their pain. Ryan explains that he spends some 300 plus days traveling and a miserable 43 days at home. Through his travels he gives speeches at different hotels about putting your life in a backpack and feeling that weight. Your different attachments in life weigh you down. So he believes in having no attachments.

    Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga play Natalie and Alex in the movie and their characters provide a challenge to Ryan's way of life. Natalie is a young college graduate with big ideas that will change the way Ryan will do his job. Ryan is not happy about this and thus there is conflict between the two. Ryan's boss, played by Jason Bateman, pairs Natalie with Ryan so that Ryan can show her the ropes. Their totally different personalities and philosophies on life clash and these provides for most of the funny and witty dialogue of the movie. Ryan is an older man who is calm and full of confidence in his job and in his life. Natalie on the other hand is young, naïve, and looks unsure of what to do most of the time. Alex is another business room that Ryan meets on the road and has a fling with. During the course of the movie they keep in contact and hook up as much as possible. Natalie seems to be just like Ryan in life only in female form. Ryan enjoys being with her so much is seems that he is reconsidering his whole theory on not being attached to other people. Is it possible that Natalie and Alex can change his whole outlook on life? That's obviously where this movie is headed.

    So what is this movie all about? It's about life. Pretty simple but yet very complicated. There are two philosophies on life presented in this movie. There is Ryan who believes that relationships are the heaviest objects you can put in your backpack. Relationships weigh you down in life. There's too much negotiations and compromise that you have to do. You can't be truly happy with all these attachments with other people. As he likes to say, if you are not moving you are dieing. In a way we can see he is right. Relationships can be hard; you have to work hard at it. It's a drag sometimes. The people you are the closest too end up hurting you the most. We've all felt this at sometime in our life. We see in Ryan's life that he has no close relationships. He has no girlfriends, he has no plans to ever marry or have children, he has no close friends, he hardly has a relationship with his two sisters, he fires dozens of people daily and feels nothing for them, and he seems just fine with that. Natalie on the other hand can't help but being attached to other people. She has fond dreams of being married someday and having children. In fact she believes her life is not complete without this. You also see this when she has to fire people. She can't help but feel very bad for these people and can't detach herself from the situation of seeing these peoples lives destroyed right in front of her.

    So at the end of the movie you have to ask yourself, are attachments and relationships worth the effort. The answer I came to be is yes, they are. At the end of the day what keeps you going in life. Is it your possessions or is it the love of your family? For me nothing can compare to the love I get from my family and friends. It's unmeasureable.. As they say you can replace your possessions but you can't replace your loved ones. This philosophy is even more evident in this movie when you think about the people who are fired in this movie. They are devastated by this turn of events but they also realize that they couldn't get through it if it wasn't for their family. You can lose everything but as long as you have a family to go home to you can be happy, you can have hope for the future. Without these relationships you are alone and have no one to help you through the bad times. So I would think about your own life and be grateful for all the people in it.

    Grade- B

    Rated R- Lots of use of the F-word and other cuss words through out the movie, 2 seconds of nudity of Vera Farmiga, lots of sexual innuendo and vulgar talk between George Clooney and Vera Farmiga.
    helpful•41
    33
    • oscargeek83
    • Jan 27, 2010

    FAQ7

    • What is the song that plays at the end of the movie? And where are the credits for this song in the credits list?
    • What is 'Up in the Air' about?
    • Is "Up in the Air" based on a book?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 23, 2009 (United States)
      • United States
      • Official Facebook
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Cheshire Inn, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
    • Production companies
      • Paramount Pictures
      • Cold Spring Pictures
      • DreamWorks
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 49 minutes
      • Color
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS

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