My review of: "THE COMPANY MEN" (about how people handle being downsized in their jobs)

Review of film:  “THE COMPANY MEN”

Have you ever wondered, in a world of economic COLLAPSE, who in the Business world will PERSONALLY crumple--  & will they ever be able to rise ABOVE it all?  This film delves into that situation…

…  The GTX Corp is a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate, involved in such pursuits as shipbuilding.  It’s run by James Salinger (CRAIG T. NELSON) who founded the company.  He claims his main focus is his “stockholders”--  but HE is one of the largest owners of the company, so it’s really his own WALLET that he truly cares about…

…  His right-hand man is Gene McClary (TOMMIE LEE JONES), who’s been with Craig from the start of the company.  Tommie really cares about the EMPLOYEES, & is regularly at ODDS with Craig over his desire to keep DOWNSIZING the firm to add to short-term profits…

…  Tommie’s main assistant is long-time employee Phil Woodward (CHRIS COOPER), who’s described as a “kiss-ass”, tho he seems to be sincere in his concern about his own underlings, in part because he rose up from working on the shop floor building ships… 

…  The bright “star” under him is sales director Bobby Walker (BEN AFFLECK), who’s a sharp dresser, handsome, charismatic and charming.  He likes his “rich man” toys-- a Porsche sports car, a large home, etc….

…  Ben’s wife Gail (SUZANNE RICO) is basically “down-to-earth”, as are their kids Drew (ANTHONY O’LEARY) -- who loves basketball & bike-riding --, and younger child Carson (ANGELA REZZA)…

…  In large part to “impress” the market (in the sense of getting the GTX share prices to rise), Craig wants to LAY-OFF loads of people.  Tommie Lee, who always feels it’s best to be honest & blunt, tells him he feels it’s a HORRIBLE idea in that it’ll disrupt many lives.  But, Craig doesn’t care what he thinks, & goes “behind his back” to close 2 of his 3 shipbuilding groups…

…  Tommie Lee gets very angry, but Craig doesn’t care…  Partly to foster a possible buy-out offer, Craig then works to have ANOTHER round of lay-offs.  When that hits Ben & Chris, Tommie Lee is livid & tries to help them…

…  Ben reacts especially POORLY to the situation:  he tries to keep his lay-off a SECRET, even from his family & his own KIDS (which makes them feel worried about his marriage)…

…  His wife tries to be practical, urging him to CUT-BACK on his expenses (like his expensive car, golfing at the country club, etc.);  but he simply DOESN’T want to do any of those things, feeling it’ll hurt his image & thus his ability to get a NEW 6-figure job…

…  Well, even tho Ben refuses to “downsize” his lifestyle, he gets NOWHERE in his job searches…  Eventually, as things start to deteriorate more & more, he’s forced to radically CHANGE his “style”, including accepting a construction job with his wife’s brother, Jack Dolan (KEVIN COSTNER)…

…  Will CHRIS (an older man) be able to “handle” losing his job?...  Will BEN be able to find a new career he feels is “proper” for him & his abilities?...  Will TOMMY be able to keep dealing with Craig (whom he’s grown to despise)?-- &, if not, what will he “DO” for his own life (which is becoming increasingly difficult economically)?...

…  I found this to be an unusually WELL-DONE movie.  I don’t care about the “accents” people might use, or what their star-actor “names” might conjure up.  My concern is, are the characters BELIEVABLE?  They are, & you learn to CARE about most of them, because of the many “levels” of emotions covered in the plot lines…

…  Yes, the film hits a number of “hot-buttons” about the bad businessmen & the crooked banks & the like during the economic recession--  but, the main characters are APROPOS “stand-ins” for the types of suffering that have arisen:  the depressing reduction in feelings of self-WORTH, the DIFFICULTIES in finding “similar” job possibilities, the frayed RELATIONSHIPS & touchy EMOTIONS, etc…

…  It’s not a “great” film, but it’s unusually WELL-DONE by all involved, & thus I’m rating it as 8.25 out of 10 stars…