Up in the Air Review

It’s incredibly difficult to make a movie that’s both timeless and timely – yet that’s precisely what “Up in the Air” is.

It’s got a little something for everybody. It’s part romantic comedy/drama, it’s a funny road trip movie, it’s a sharply-observed character study and (with its corporate downsizing protagonist) it’s instantly identifiable to almost any person who has a job.

(I guess the lack of explosions is troubling to the young male audience Hollywood seems to think they have to work extra hard to get into theatres.)

Oscar nominee George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, who travels across the country to fire employees for companies that don’t have the guts to inform their own workers. Ryan is great at his job and he actually loves the detachment and the frequent travel it requires.

That’s why he’s instantly put off when Natalie (Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick), a rising star at his company proposes a new system that would allow them to fire employees online and eliminate the need for travel. Their smarmy boss (Jason Bateman sporting the same thoroughly douche-y beard Ryan had in season 4 of “The Office.”) decides to team them up so that Ryan can show Natalie what the job entails.

Director Jason Reitman and his co-screenwriter Sheldon Turner make a near-perfect movie for the first 2/3 of their film’s running time. The scenes of employees being let go (some featuring the real-life reactions of non-actors who were actually fired) were alternately chilling, heartbreaking and, yes, a little funny. The firing scenes that did feature actors (such as the great J.K. Simmons and “Hangover” star Zach Galifianakis) are absolutely commanded by Clooney who is in full control of his silver-tongue rakish charm.

Reitman and Turner also stage what comes closest to a classic Hollywood romance these days when Ryan meets fellow frequent flyer Alex (Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga, dripping sexiness) who becomes his, um, “travel buddy.” Now, I’m pretty sure most “classic Hollywood” couples weren’t comparing hotel discount knowledge and bouncing from one hotel room to another. When I call it a “classic Hollywood romance”, I mean to say that both Ryan and Alex are equally and perfectly matched. (These days the girl is a twit or the guy is a dumbass.) They’re smart, witty, good at their jobs and totally into each other.

I think it’s pretty easy to underrate Clooney’s performance because the easy thing to say is that he’s “playing himself.” I don’t personally know George Clooney, so I don’t have the authority to say whether he’s playing himself or not. All I do know is that the actor probably realizes this role is a perfect complement to people’s perceptions of him and he absolutely nails it. He may not get as many big actor-ly moments as his fellow Oscar nominees, but he’s always absolutely believable.

It’s also pretty easy to overlook Clooney’s work because Kendrick (who shares most of her scenes with Clooney) is so impressive. Natalie could’ve easily devolved into a complete caricature of the modern-day, career-first go-getter, but Kendrick imbues her performance with enough brains (and just enough heart) to make you root for her.

You may remember me saying the first 2/3 of the movie were near-perfect. Well it’s not so much that the last 1/3 is bad – it’s just less near-perfect.

Although the movie’s been out for well over a month, I’m not interested in spoiling anything. All I’ll say is that there are characters that do unexpected about-faces that conflict with all the romanticized realism we’d seen before.

That’s another thing Reitman does – with his beautiful overhead shots of various U.S. cities and melancholy soundtrack, he makes (Ryan’s) air travel look incredibly alluring yet almost hauntingly lonely. (On top of Clooney’s performance, I feel like Reitman’s direction will be a bit underrated because this is seen more as an actor’s showcase.)

This is a smart movie for adults. Unfortunately, in making a movie about a guy who intentionally keeps himself detached from life and relationships with other people, the movie itself, while superb, is hard to fully get your arms around.

I had high expectations going in and this movie absolutely met them (though it didn’t exceed them). I thought it was great, but I didn’t exactly fall in love with it. Still, that doesn’t keep “Up in the Air” from being one of the best movies of 2009. (It’s just not my favorite.)

Up in the Air…A-