The crash of the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s brought an era of lowered expectations that I don’t think we’ve ever fully gotten over. That small-ball sensibility seems to be what drives “In Good Company.” It’s got the architecture of a romantic comedy: middle-aged family man (Dennis Quaid) gets a new, young boss (Topher Grace) who falls for his daughter (Scarlett Johansson). But instead of hijinks, everyone takes turns receiving gut punches followed by small victories. The presumptive happy ending seems more relief than triumph. But that’s where we were in 2004, and now. Just relieved that we’re surviving.
Archives for posts with tag: Marg Helgenberger
Tea Leoni, action hero. That’s my big takeaway from “Bad Boys” (1995). It’s a typical Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay shootemup, with explosions, helicopters and Tcheky Karyo as the cliche foreign bad guy. Oh, and there’s Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as Mutt-and-Jeff detectives with blazing guns and wacky banter. Smith is good. Lawrence, as usual, is too much of a good thing. Joe Pantoliano is in it, too, as the cliche harried captain of maverick cops who play by their own sets of rules. Speaking of Pantoliano, Leoni’s real last name is Pantaleoni, and she wears the big-boy pants here.
100wordreviews 