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In Good Company

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 40 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 53 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy | Drama
Written by: Paul Weitz
Directed by: Paul Weitz
Release Date:
Theatrical: December 29, 2004
DVD: May 10, 2005
Running Time: 110 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for some sexual content and drug references
Starring Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson, Marg Helgenberger, David Paymer, Clark Gregg, Philip Baker Hall, and Selma Blair
A very human story of the unlikely relationship between two men who find their satisfying, status quo existences disrupted by the startling truth that they no longer have any control over both the professional and personal sides of their lives. (Universal)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: About a Boy American Dreamz American Pie Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant Down to Earth
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Fresh comic thinking spices up this smart cookie of a satire from director-writer Paul Weitz (About a Boy). He makes it sexually provocative and subversively hilarious.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt
Grace and Quaid imbue what could have been caricatures--with heart, intelligence and great comic timing.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
The denouement of the movie is as preposterously happy as a children's fairy tale. But the moral is ageless.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
A smart, savvy and satisfying Hollywood comedy.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky
The film is ultimately so extraordinary because it deals with something so ordinary: the desire to be better than we are, without knowing how to do it.
Read Full Review >Newsweek David Ansen
A smooth mixture of satire and sentiment that owes an obvious debt to "The Apartment," not to mention "Jerry Maguire."
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Genial, generous-spirited and unmistakably entertaining.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
Has two strengths to recommend it: strong character interaction and a viciously accurate depiction of the modern corporate philosophy.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jami Bernard
An amusing and unusually compassionate look at today's corporate culture.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
A star is born in In Good Company, which showcases Topher Grace.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
The comic spirit in this type of picture is wonderfully democratic, and so is the result.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Lively acting and timely humor are the main assets of this garden-variety comedy.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
While Weitz's story is diverting, the performances cut deeper than the film.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
In Good Company is a rare species: a feel-good movie about big business. It's about a corporate culture that tries to be evil and fails.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell
A modest movie full of decent pop songs, three-dimensional humans and sharp observations about the male mind. It's also full of funny little ironies.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
A missed opportunity, though as usual Quaid is dazzling.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
Isn't scintillating, but it's sort of embraceably funny.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Don R. Lewis
The guy (Grace) simply steals the show here. He's at once goofy and hammy, yet so lost, sad and sensitive you buy into his performance from the get go.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
How, then, does "In Good Company" turn out for the better in spite of itself? No mystery at all. Whatever the fate of old media, or new media, for that matter, winning performances are here to stay.
Time Richard Schickel
Leaves a quiz show's quantity of unanswered questions. But it has the optimism and determination of a corporate whistle-blower. It makes us believe, for a moment, that it's possible to end-run the spirit of Enron.
Read Full Review >Variety Todd McCarthy
An often lively comedy-drama that lands some nice jabs at the mega-corp ethos, In Good Company makes for pretty good company until going soft when it counts.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Manohla Dargis
In Good Company lacks both the emotional sting and the bright pop-culture snap of "About a Boy," as well as Mr. Hornby's carefully cultivated irony, but it makes for an agreeable solo directing debut.
Read Full Review >Slate David Edelstein
It manages to be funny and charming while capturing a lot of disturbing things about the way we live now.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Weitz has done one remarkable thing in "Company" that doesn't strike you until later: He's given us a functional family that overcomes difficulties with patience and effort.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
Cheerful and easy to watch but surprisingly inept in the telling.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
If the movie overall had the bitter brio of Malcolm McDowell's brief turn as Globecom guru Teddy K, a Franken-mogul stitched together from bits of Richard Branson, Barry Diller and Rupert Murdoch, it would be a pointed black comedy.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
Only when it wraps up all its loose ends with a feel-good sitcom conclusion does it finally reveal itself: It's an interesting failure rendered all the more disappointing for veering so close to success.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
Has its heart in the right place, and could have been an insightful rumination on corporate shortsightedness and mid-life obsolescence. Instead, it's another one of those Hollywood films whose feel for the workingman's life seems to come exclusively from other movies.
Read Full Review >Premiere Glenn Kenny
The movie has some pleasures, but can be heartily recommended only to those who like their entertainments equally inoffensive and inconsequential.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Good points aside, In Good Company is a bland, occasionally phlegmatic pastiche of cliches and dull encounters.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones
Grace and Johannson's courtship has all the heat of a wet wipe and, worse yet, leaves Quaid offscreen for long stretches.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 53 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Mathias C. gave it an8:
Come on, this is a sweet film, and its message that it shouldn't always be about the money is refreshing during these increasingly self-centered, cut-throat times. Let's call it "The Graduate" meets "Father Knows Best," and you'll be getting the right idea. All said, it's a warm tale that deserved better praise, a nice tonic after viewing "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," not to mention the president's State of the Union address, for that matter.
Josh gave it a2:
This film is terrible. Normally a chick flick like this has a possible happy ending, this ending though just makes no sense. The only reason it gets a vote is because Scarlet Johansson is so fit, though does sound like a man.
Scott Y. gave it a5:
This is hardly a romance movie, as the romance is a really just a side event to the overall younger-boss theme. The actors are acceptable, although you really don't see much of Scarlet J. Dennis Quaid is capable, although his facial expressions and manerisms are turning him into Harrison Ford. The theme was good, the execution was acceptable, but the last half hour really dragged the movie out and really never resolved much. It wasn't what I'd call a Hollywood ending but it did eventually become predictable and that last half hour really took away from my complete enjoyment of the movie.
Tanya gave it a10:
Awesome!
Ani gave it a10:
Excellent romantic comedy, a rare one in which the sappy moments are easy to swallow.
Dave F gave it an8:
The film offers few surprises, but it's a joy to watch. Funny and winning, even if you can see every plot twist coming a mile away. And Scarlett Johansson is such a BABE!
Paula V. gave it a9:
Excellent film. A great story about the phases we go through as we adapt to change compacted within a short period of time. Wonderful dialogue, great acting. Finally a really good Dennis Quaid film.
