Search - Up in the Air on DVD

Jennifer D. (jennicat) from ST AUGUSTINE, FL
Reviewed on 3/28/2014...

One of my top movies. I could imagine myself as all of the characters.

1 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Kristian L. (Katomine) from PRESCOTT, AZ
Reviewed on 9/18/2013...

lovely film

1 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Matthew M. from WAILUKU, HI
Reviewed on 7/3/2011...

Great film. Fascinating story, Very well acted. A profound reflection on much of our culture. It gave me reason to look at many things. It was heart rending at times. It was also FUN and delightfully comical. The characters were delightful. I've watched it twice so far, and I'm not done yet.

5 of 5 member(s) found this review helpful.

Lewis P. (Turfseer) from NEW YORK, NY
Reviewed on 10/24/2010...

Heartthrob Clooney can't save turgid, uninspired tale of corporate downsizing

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

With the plague of 'corporate downsizing' now reaching its zenith, such a social phenomenon is bound to come to the attention of Hollywood's top name producers. Hence, Jason Reitman, son of famous Hollywood producer/director Ivan Reitman, has been given the reins to address this very issue. It also helps to have heart-throb George Clooney in the role of corporate down-sizer Ryan Bingham, who flies around the country as a sort of 'hired gun', informing various downsized employees that their services are no longer required.

Soon a young upstart, Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), comes up with the brilliant idea of firing employees via a computer video linkup. One wonders why Ryan's company hadn't embraced this method years before, since obviously it is much more cost effective. And it's also hard to believe that a new employee such as Natalie, who is just out of school, would be the one introducing the new prototype as these video linkups (as just pointed out) have not only been around for quite some time but it's more likely a more experienced person would probably be responsible for developing or customizing it.

Somehow Ryan convinces his boss that 'face-to-face' firings still are much more preferable to firings via computer and that Natalie needs to understand the value of the 'human touch'. Ryan's boss puts the video project on hold and allows Ryan to keep jetting about firing people in person as long as Natalie accompanies him. This of course allows 'Up in the Air' to become something of a 'buddy' picture with Ryan and Natalie 'duking it out' over the nature of relationships. When Natalie finds out that Ryan has been having a casual affair with Alex, who he is constantly meeting up with while on the road, she castigates him for not getting involved. Let me add that Natalie only becomes emotional over this issue after she has been dumped by her own boyfriend (via text message). For the most part, she is a one-note cold fish who soon learns the delicate art of firing people face to face, under Ryan's tutelage.

Not much happens during the 'second act' of 'Up in the Air'. Director Reitman spends too much time presenting cameos of real-life people recreating their reactions to the news that they've been downsized. Was it necessary to 'pad' the film with these cameos? Basically one minute of the fired employees would have been enough to convey the despair of these hapless people. There are additional repetitious scenes with Ryan, while moonlighting as a motivational speaker, utilizing a backpack to illustrate his 'life philosophy' to an audience of self-help junkies at various hotel conference rooms. Reitman wastes additional time with a scene where the three principals attend a corporate party, culminating with a 'heart-to-heart' talk between Alex and Ryan on a corporate yacht.

You would think that the big 'Act Two Climax' would have something to do with the relationship between Ryan, Alex and Natalie, but it doesn't. Instead, there's an awkward subplot that pops up involving Ryan's sister's fiancé who gets cold feet just before he's about to get married. Ryan is called in by his other sister and uses his 'motivational speaker' skills to convince the errant husband-to-be, to go ahead with the wedding—which of course he does and the couple live happily ever after.

The wrap up of Act Three is decidedly a downer—and thoroughly unconvincing to boot. Despite the fact that Alex attends Ryan's sister's wedding and seemingly is now ready to become more involved with him, it just doesn't turn out that way. After giving up his motivational speaker gig, Ryan somehow finds Alex's home address and knocks on her door—only to discover that she is a married woman. Since Alex only wanted a casual relationship, it would have been much easier for her to simply tell Ryan that she was married and there would have been no hard feelings. But since the film's screenwriter was desperate to create some kind of drama (and there is so little of it in this film), we're treated to the unlikely scenario of Ryan being deflated when he discovers the true nature of Alex's marital status. As for Natalie, she quits the company after learning that one of the downsized employees that she had fired, killed herself. It appears that both Ryan and Natalie did not heed this particular employee's pronouncement while on one of their firing jaunts, as the woman did indeed explicitly state that she was going to jump off a bridge. Inexplicably, Ryan's boss puts the computer video link program on hold despite the fact that the communication between Ryan and Natalie and this particular employee, took place face to face!

Up in the Air is a slow-moving 'dramedy' with an underdeveloped plot. While it's a very nice-looking film, the actors can do very little with their parts due to the weak script. Clooney basically plays himself (as he usually does) and offers up an only serviceable performance. On the basis of director Reitman's last two films ('Juno' preceded 'Up in the Air'), it's likely we'll be seeing uninspired, mediocre films from him in the future.

1 of 6 member(s) found this review helpful.

Harry E. (HHHarry) from BALTIMORE, MD
Reviewed on 5/26/2010...

This movie really surprised me. I was expecting a light frothy Rom-Com. They previews and commercials certainly lead you in that direction. While there are certainly some very funny parts of the film the real punch from this film comes more from the drama.
It is quite well acted, but what else do you expect from Clooney and Farmiga. Both are great in their roles.
This is a very good film, but you will be surprised (as was I) if you are expecting a frothy little film. It deals with some quite serious subject matter, especially these days.

6 of 6 member(s) found this review helpful.

Pretty good, but has some noticeable flaws

Irfan A. Alvi | Towson, MD USA | 06/09/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This movie is different and interesting enough to be fairly engaging, so I had no problem staying focused from start to finish, and I often couldn't predict what would happen next (which is good). And most broadly, the movie portrays the important lesson that, in our quest for meaningful lives, human relationships may be the best we can do.



But I was bothered by a few things, so I have to drop my rating to 4 stars. Most prominently, the main character Ryan strikes me as implausible: he's handsome, charismatic, can empathize with the people he lays off, and generally seems mature in many ways, yet he inexplicably goes to extremes to avoid close relationships; also, he likes to be pampered while traveling, yet he tolerates spending his relatively few days at home in a somewhat dumpy little place. Similarly, I found it implausible to see how Alex, his female counterpart, was clearly sending him signs of romantic interest, yet in the end turned out to supposedly not be interested at all. Likewise, I found the character of Natalie to be somewhat of a stereotyped cliche. Last but certainly not least, I didn't find that the portrayal of the people being laid off effectively connected me with the distinct pain they must have felt at that moment.



Despite these flaws, this is still a good movie overall, and many people will find it worth watching."

Someone's Gotta Do It

David Baldwin | Philadelphia,PA USA | 05/27/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In a perfect world we wouldn't need undertakers or IRS auditors or for that matter an employment terminator. In the latter occupation Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) does it so well even if he doesn't particularly like it or dislike it for that matter. To maintain some sense of sanity Ryan engages in casual affairs or keeps a log of his frequent flier miles and takes pride in the comps he's accumulated. With the current economic climate things couldn't be better for Ryan's field. Ryan, however, is at a mid-career crisis. The home office in Omaha wants to keep him off the road by doing internet hook-up firings. At home in Wisconsin he's reminded of the disconnect with his own roots and family. At this crossroad Ryan has some serious choices to make. I found "Up in the Air" to be a piece with director Jason Reitman's earlier effort "Thank You For Smoking" in that Reitman challenges the audience to sympathize with a central character with an unsavory occupation. George Clooney is excellent in suggesting the complexities of Ryan. The real find here is Anna Kendrick as Natalie Keener, Ryan's Ivy League protogee. Natalie could have come off as an automaton but Kendrick mines the humanity and humor of the character. Vera Fermiga is alright but essentially her character is the standard girlfriend part. The accolades drawn by the film seem have caused a negative reaction among some viewers. Divorce it from the hype you will find it is an excellent film."