In Good Company

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In Good Company
In Good Company film poster
Directed by	Paul Weitz
Produced by	Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Written by	Paul Weitz
Starring	Dennis Quaid Scarlett Johansson Topher Grace Selma Blair
Cinematography	Remi Adefarasin
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	29 December 2004 (limited) 14 January 2005 (nationwide)
Running time	109 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

In Good Company is a 2004 film written and directed by Paul Weitz, the co-director of About a Boy.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Dan Foreman (played by Dennis Quaid) is a seasoned advertisement sales executive at a top publication when a corporate takeover results in him being placed under naive supervisor Carter Duryea (Topher Grace), who is half his age. Matters are made worse when Dan's new supervisor becomes romantically involved with Dan's daughter, the beautiful 18 year-old college student Alex (Scarlett Johansson) and Dan's wife (Marg Helgenberger) is pregnant with their third child.

Rather than a romantic comedy with the plot focusing on the relationship between Carter and Alex, the movie is better described as a drama—in fact, Alex and Carter are only romantically involved for about half of the film, getting together after the film begins and separating before the film's ending. Central to the story is instead the effects that the corporate takeover has on the lives of Dan Foreman and his family, and how Carter Duryea's life is changed based on his experiences with Foreman and his daughter Alex. The film ends with the restoration of the situational "status quo," Dan recovering his job after another corporate takeover removes Carter from his position. The film's conclusion has Dan offering Carter a job with his company, which Carter rejects in trying to find what he really wants to do, which Dan encourages.

One of the important themes in the movie is the presence of the "hostile corporate environment," with many supporting characters being riffed or laid off as a result of cutbacks.

[edit] Trivia

The film was originally titled Synergy. One can still hear references which were kept in the final cut of the film. (Changed because a survey administered at various test screenings proved that 9 out of 10 people don't know what the word "synergy" means).

Dan's surname is Foreman, which is the surname of Topher Grace's character, Eric, in That '70s Show (although it is spelled "Forman" on the show).

Topher Grace took the role as a dedication for his father, who is in the advertising business.

Ashton Kutcher, one of Grace's That '70s Show co-stars, also auditioned for the role of Carter Duryea.

Scenes from the movie were filmed at New York University's freshman dorm, Hayden Hall.

In a cameo in Ocean's Twelve, Topher Grace references his work in this movie. While complaining about how an unidentified girl has him desperately in love, he mentions, "...I quit the show, I totally phoned in that Dennis Quaid movie." In Good Company was one of the trailers shown when Ocean's Twelve debuted.