In Good Company (* * *)

I am giving In Good Company 3 stars, it was pretty good and I liked it. Even with 3 stars as a rating I am still going to recommend this movie to most. If I could describe why with one word I would say because it's refreshing. Truly, that was pretty much the best thing about In Good Company, just that it wasn't the same as everything else and it wasn't what I expected.
The plot is really simple and with this film, that was okay. Topher Grace plays Carter Duryea, a young hot shot manager at a large company. When Carter's company takes over a smaller company he takes the job of 50 something Dan Foreman. To complicate things Carter dates Dan's daughter Alex played by Scarlett Johansson. Through complications at work and at home the two learn to respect each other and learn from each other. Yes, that's it, the plot is very basic but it works. I am sure you are thinking that there will be many jokes and awkward situations regarding the relationship with Carter and Alex, but it's not one of those movies. The movie is mostly about Dan and Carter, like I said it's not what you will expect.
The cast of the movie is good, having Topher Grace and Dennis Quaid in this movie is really how I was drawn to it. I didn't realize it before but was pleased to see Marg Helgenberger, from CSI, in the film. Her part is small, but I really find her pleasant and it was nice to see her play this part because it is so different from her CSI character. I haven't seen Scarlett Johansson in much, but she seems to get a lot of praise for any part she plays. I was interested in seeing her in this and she didn't disappoint, I agree that she is a good actress. With In Good Company, her character was not really complex but she added a lot of realism to it. Of course everyone knows Topher Grace as Eric Foreman from That 70's Show, and it's going to be difficult for him to escape that. It was a little bit difficult to see him in such a different role, but I thought he was really funny and really was a good leading actor. As he departs from That 70's Show and does more films it will be easier to see him as someone else. Dennis Quaid was also good in his role, he seems to be getting more popular lately, and rightly so. I think his acting is getting better and as a result he is getting better parts. He played this character well, the good thing about him is that he just has that feel for a regular person, he doesn't scream "celebrity" every time I see him on screen. He looks like he could be just like any of us, I like that.
As mentioned before the plot isn't really that complicated but it does keep you guessing a little bit. One of the great things about this story is that it's realistic. I found myself relating to the situations very well, and I think that was what really drew me into the story. Because I could see situations like this in real life I cared about the characters and the things that happened to them in their lives. The story does move a little slow and the music really didn't help with that, but I didn't really mind. I enjoyed just sitting back and watching the story unfold, I rarely like slow paced movies so I have to give this movie a lot of credit for keeping me interested. There are a lot of funny moments but the film isn't really a comedy, it really isn't a romantic comedy either. I just think it's basically just a good story with some comedy, drama and a little romance. Another great thing about the film was that it didn't end how I expected or really how I wanted, but it was a good ending and I felt good afterward, maybe I should classify it as a "feel good" movie. There were a lot of good messages and themes to the story, and I really liked that the movie portrayed a functional family that loved and supported each other. It's rare in Hollywood that we see this, it's usually some disfunctional family with kids that hate their parents. I really think that people want to see happy families on film, it's nice for a change.
The Bottom Line... In Good Company is, well, a good movie. It's not complex and it's not going to win any Oscars, but it's worth watching. There is a great family dynamic portrayed that I thought was good. It's PG-13 and really doesn't have much material in it that would be offensive to people, there is very minor bad language with no "f" words and maybe one "off-color" joke. I don't really see many 13 year olds being interested in the movie, but if they were to see it I wouldn't be worried. The best thing about In Good Company is that it was different, and it was time, I found the film a refreshing change to the mundane films that Hollywood is churning out these days.