Curious subject, treated too lightly to have much impact, and with a corny smile pasted on the face of the issue by the end. Formulaic plot devices manufactured to tug on heartstrings without ringing true. Affleck plays his standard everyman (a hapless slave to his ego) who can't schedule a job interview.

This was a very accurate movie of the tragedy of downsizing. I work in HR and have been on the company side and I have been laid off, all is a correct portrayal of what happens. Whether certain characters weren't emphasized, or lousy editing, whatever, the point of the movie is how losing one's job can devastate one's self-esteem, finances, family, and reason for living. It is a reminder for those of us with jobs to have empathy and to do what we can for those who do not even now in 2011. Superb acting by everyone.… Expand

Psychopath boss grows conscious? Is this a joke? why can't these people (film employee's) deal with the reality that powerful and rich people are (most of the time) savages? Oh i forgot that it would reflect badly on them(sarcasm).

This movie greatly surpassed my expectations. The lead actors (Jones, Cooper, Affleck, Bello, Nelson) are uniformly excellent in roles that could have easily given way to caricature. It's not an "up" movie, but it deals with the realities of layoffs in corporate America much more realistically and empathetically than just about anything I've ever seen before.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. In "The Company Men", you get more Ben for your buck. When we first meet Bobby Walker, the soon-to-be-fired regional sales manager at GTX, it's the Affleck of Ben Younger's "Boiler Room", an unrepentant capitalist who has no time for losers, or in other words, working men, salt-of-the-earth types like Jack(Kevin Costner), his brother-in-law, the owner of a small construction company, whom he humiliates after the carpenter offers him the job of carpenter's assistant. But as Bobby's search for gainful employment outlasts his severance checks from the shipbuilding corporation that unceremoniously let him go, the finance-related humiliations start to pile up(the nadir being the selling of his Porsche), so with tail between his legs, the once-c*cky s.o.b., Porsche-less and facing imminent home foreclosure, humbly asks Jack if the offer he had made previously still stands, and in due time, turns into the Affleck of Gus Van Sant's "Good Will Hunting"("Good Bobby Walker"?), a blue-collar type with no career prospects. As was the case with Sofia Coppola's "Somewhere", this unflashy but well-calibrated film about the fallout from our ongoing economic downturn, requires an audience who can sympathize with(as opposed to revel in) the misfortunes of the very affluent. Why should we care if the guy in the suit, who pulled in a yearly base salary of a hundred-sixty-grand-a-year, can't afford to pay his monthly fees at an exclusive golf club? Are we supposed to shed a tear when Bobby's son sells his X-Box? After all, this guy knows his way around a feeding frenzy; he's a shark, a cold-blooded meat eater(like his aging pal Phil, played by Chris Cooper, who succinctly makes this point by ordering a rib-eyed steak at a disappointing business luncheon), who under normal circumstances, would have nothing to do with the likes of Jack's construction crew. He loathes the working class, absolutely loathes them. You can tell. He treats his wife's family like a necessary evil, as evidenced by the aura of aloofness he projects at a birthday celebration for Jack's wife. Somebody of Bobby's caliber is just biding his time, nursing a beer by his lonesome, waiting to reunite with his own kind, so he can breathe in the rarefied air of esteemed company such as Phil, and his mentor Gene McClary(Tommy Lee Jones), whom unbeknownst to the unemployed professional, is sleeping with the woman(played by Maria Bello) who fired him. To a guy like Bobby, a man who defines himself by the solvency of his investment portfolio and the toys he owns, anybody who doesn't pull in a hefty salary is dismissed as riff-raff. At a job search center, while the other unemployed men and women, the proverbial riff-raff, participate in a group therapy session, Bobby sits with an expression familiar to the high and mighty, an expression of deeply ingrained smugness, a distancing technique he utilizes on people who aren't of his ilk. Ignominiously left to his own devices amongst the job center's general population, Bobby searches for a cubicle, the omni-present work station emblematic of the anonymous, which to the former executive, is a far cry from his heyday of sequestering behind the door of a climate-controlled office. To make matters worse, a black guy takes pity on him, so by default, Bobby befriends his office mate, even though, judging by the way he chastises an African-American human resources woman at a job interview, in which the insulted interviewee goes so far as taking a potshot at her weight, the "very qualified" applicant has very little respect for minorities. But as "The Company Men" shows, people can change, and during Bobby's stint as a carpenter, he gets Jack to hire his flack friend, a sure-fire signifier that the transformation from corporate shark to working stiff is complete, whose friendship with Danny(Eamonn Walker) recalls Adam Carolla in Charles Herman-Wurmfield's "The Hammer", in which the journeyman carpenter(played by Carolla) calls a Guatemalan illegal his best buddy. In "The Company Men", Bobby Walker, knocked off his pedestal, as a result, becomes a better man, although it remains to be seen, hypothetically, if he'll revert to his old persona, the longer he holds his position at Gene's new start-up. In "Boiler Room", as Jim Young, capitalist Affleck tells a group of prospective stockbrokers: "They say money can't buy you happiness? Look at the f*cking smile on my face. Ear to ear, baby." How long will it take for tool belt Affleck to revert back into this a**hole? Your answer will determine your feelings about the film's optimistic climax. How cynical are you?… Expand

Aside from the very limited Affleck, this is an excellent cast capable of tackling meaty issues. Yet the film falls far short as an exploration of what it's like to be laid off: It feels as formulaic as a made-for-TV movie. If you've experienced the real-life consequences of downsizing, you won't find it particularly moving.

The Company Men represents, but nearly insults, the white collar Americans caught up in the recent economy. While it accurately shows the reality of people who over-extend themselves and have been quickly impacted negatively by layoffs and a down economy, it doesn't spend any time on pointing out the blame on the individual level, instead choosing to blame the business completely. Not to say the companies aren't very much to blame for how this economy was handled, being deep in corporate America in similar positions as those represented in the movie, I was not touched the way the movie clearly tried to touch the hearts of its viewers. It's hard to feel sympathy for someone making $120-160K a year who suddenly gets laid off, but then cannot handle that downturn more than 3 months. Even though, in life, I am strongly critical of the stock market-based importance of growth and efficiency as to the life and health of a company, since the ability to handle downturns in demand and proof of diversity and breadth, I believe, are more important, I was turned off by how the film spent too much time implying that it was ok to develop these lives, but provide no security to live through down times. No, the companies succumbing to stock market and shareholder demands and repeatedly putting band aids on on problems that were keeping the stock price down were the REAL problems. Yes, it does a good job showing how the characters suffer through their loss, and that realism was very well portrayed, but the intent of the filmmakers was to make you feel sorry for those who put themselves (and their families) in an unprotected state, but vilified the big bad businesses, even though their decisions for dealing with such economic times were equally as bad. As good as the cast is, I feel "Hollywooded" when I see movies like The Company Men. This movie was someone's agenda, and that never sits right with me.… Expand

Amidst the global economic downturn, a few shinny boys lose their jobs and are confronted with their own egos and test their boundaries. A fine ensemble albeit none of them quite standing out, deliver a heartfelt result that seem to be quite relevant to today's realities.

This was a good film that captured the reality of America today. Strong performances all around drive this film. I wish there had been more about the affair but again it was a great start to 2011.

An impressive cast (including Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper) deals with dejection and rejection after losing their high-level positions in a major corporation. This downer drama paints a bleak picture of their struggles, while making a not-so-subtle indictment of corporate America's greed. The performances and direction are solid, but the script lacks style or punch. As a result, the film is involving, but flat.… Expand

the life of an unemployed is too hard, so that my country is not recession came, anyway, it was the best movie line was between good and bad, without the boom factor.!, but it shows the stark reality of what happens or happened in USA. acceptable performances, very good .. Maggie fell in love xD

Not nearly as entertaining as delicate its treatment of the subject is handled, "The Company Men" hits home hard at a time when many are learning to walk the waters of business again. Strong performances (Jones, Cooper, and Affleck) are discreetly selected, spanning a variety of ages, hangups and incomes---taking more and more people closer to our troubling economic times. Its somber and elegiac tone may be too real for some to experience on screen, but a streak of optimism for the future hangs in the balances, or imbalances [of big business]. Verdict: "The Company Men" is a business-oriented film that is teemingly technical with jargon, weak in pulse, and palpably true.… Expand

Affleck does a compelling job of playing a career businessman cast off to fend for his family and himself. Costner fills in and does a nice job in a supporting role. The development of the story is precise and hits on many levels.

This is a good, but not convincing flick about an executive that drops a company job to become an ordinary force labor worker. The characters are not developed to a full extent; the contemporary business culture is not analyzed in depth, however it is entertaining and Kevin Costner indeed has a good role in it. To business crash and culture, try Glenngarry Glenn Ross, a movie from the 90s that certainly brings something to the table.… Expand

We are respected enough as an audience to be given a lot of reality. Most of the characters soldier through with less Hollywood and more 2011, which is quietly appreciated. Separately, I found it a little ironic that Tommy Lee Jones was at a function in front of "Harvard" alumni, which is precisely where the actor graduated.

The movie starts with a promise but in the middle it fails to deliver. The screenplay at times becomes too slow and the movie starts to boar you. The story itself is good, but no justice has been done with it. Could have been much better.

Not a perfect movie, but so basically intelligent in its treatment of the subject, and the characters, that it is one of the best films I have seen in years. The editing, pacing, is crisp, economical, never loses focus. The decision to deal with 3 major characters means that there is some thin-ness in treating the family situations of the principals. I'd have preferred knowing more about how the Chris Cooper character's family responds to following the romance of T L Jones's character. But all 3 are needed to cover the corporate relationships that are incisively explored in the film. 10 for me -- beats Black Swan hands down.… Expand

A beautiful slice of life story. All the male actors play their roles affectionately and leave you with a true connection to their lives, especially in this terrible economy. Overall, a nice story.

Inspiring and 'provoking', teach us there's a price when we are losing job. Never greedy and always grateful is the option. Great premise deserves great execution, but I don't see it in this movie.

I like this movie because it is really about something. So many movies these days are all about nudity and violence but no message. There is something to be learned here. There is something to think about, this movie leads you to an emotional and intellectual response. This movie delivers what it promises a well acted movie that is designed to make a statement. Good Movie, not a great movie...but a good movie.… Expand

The Company Men has some of the best acting I have seen in a long while. It's just too damn bad that its just so exceedingly boring. The characters are so remarkably real and well portrayed but it the characters have no room to move with the story being so rigid and slow. Affleck seems bored with the monotonous script, Tommy Lee Jones brings his usual enthusiasm but it is overpowered by the tedium, Chris Cooper is a glorified extra and Maria Bello just seems to be there as eye candy (much like Affleck's wife). Its the most unfulfilled film with the acting being engrossing but the story failing to engage until the last 20 minutes. If it had built to that ending a little more it could have been a nice indie film about redundancy and life afterwards. However there is no movement, no life in the direction, script or editing. Its just a whole lot of well acted nothing.… Collapse

Very emotional, was exactly what I was looking of this film, based of the trailer. Very near to the reality, the cast was able to make rapport with me as the spectator, and make me feel how It could be in the reality of the downsized with no more options than what the characters opted to do in that case.