Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

SteinMo What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Peereddi I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

HotToastyRag My best friend from college and I loved going shopping at the mall. Our trademark was to look at an outfit in a clothing store and remark while shaking our heads, "This had potential." The Company Men had potential. During a recession, when people were losing their jobs right and left, and corporate men were easy "bad guy" targets, wouldn't it be a natural hit to make a movie about three men who face cuts and unemployment? I'll tell you the problem in two words: Ben Affleck. His character was given the most screen time, and he was utterly unlikable. During a job interview, he blows up at the interviewer because it isn't going well and he's irritated that he flew a long way to try for the job. With an attitude problem like that, I wouldn't hire him either. After his outburst, when he learns he doesn't get the job (this isn't really a spoiler, it's a no-brainer) the audience is supposed to feel sorry for him. Didn't work for me. The entire time, I kept thinking the man needed therapy to deal with his anger and Daddy issues, and I wasn't rooting for him to succeed.Despite a strong cast, including Chris Cooper, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner, and Craig T. Nelson, the script plays out like a bad television movie. If Hollywood had taken out a little of the cheese, added another dimension to most of the characters, and cut out Ben Affleck's role, it would have been much better.

slightlymad22 Continuing my plan to watch every Kevin Costner movie in order, I come to 2010's Company Men Plot In A Paragraph: A year in the life of three men (Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper) trying to survive corporate downsizing at a major company, and how that affects them and their families.I will say from the off, I don't understand the hate that Affleck gets, as I usually enjoy his movies that vary in tone, style and subject matter drastically from Company Men, Armageddon, Argo, Reindeer Games, Dogma and Hollywoodland or the what I consider the under rated Jersey Girl (OK I may be on my own on that one lol) All different and I enjoy him in all of them. Tommy Lee Jones delivers his best performance in years and Chris Cooper is heartbreaking!! In a small role, Company Men features one of the best performances from the latter half of Kevin Costner's career!! I think he should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor, however come nomination time, I was surprised as the movie didn't garner a single nomination. There is a stubborn arrogance to Affleck's character in the beginning, so it's kind of hard to root for him whilst he is driving round in a Porsche and spending time in his posh golf club, but as the movie goes on, and he is forced to take a manual job with KC, one he threw back in his face, scoffing at the very notion earlier in the movie, you do start to feel for him. All in all an excellent movie. It doesn't have a lot of rewatchable value for me as it is so depressing but it's great non the less.

LeonLouisRicci The Film is Concerned that Corporate Company Men are People. They are but should You Care a whole lot. The Movie sure does. "Corporations are People"...The Supreme Court. Bunk. Corporations are made up of People but are Not People. There is a Big Difference. It Should be Obvious that Corporations have No Heart and They have No Soul. You can't do a Transplant or a Lobotomy on a Corporation and they Cannot Procreate. Yes They can Multiply like a Single Cell, so it is More Accurate to call them an Organism, but Certainly NOT PEOPLE.So here it is, the Top of the Pile, the Peak of the Heap. Are They Interesting? No. They are One Dimensional, Boring, and Whiny, Greedy, Selfish Hunks of Flesh. Talk about Your Useless Eaters. But You're Suppose to become Engaged with these "Folks" and Care about the Fact that They are Losing Their Mansions and Porsches and might have to get Real Jobs.Not so much. It is Difficult to Empathize with the Characters and although some Show Signs of Humanity, so what? As an Entertainment or an Enlightenment, this Movie Leaves a lot to be Desired. It is Flat, Uninteresting, and with Very Little Insight to the Machinations or Personalities for that Matter of what's being Fictionalized up there on the screen.Overall, a Wasted Effort, with Perhaps Noble Intentions, but as a Work of Art it is Bland, Shallow, and the Movie's Tag Line is a Precursor of the Inanities to Follow..."We gave our lives to our jobs…Now it is time to take them back." Is the Writer of that bit of Nonsensical Tripe now in the Unemployment Line?

a.lampert I'm reviewing this movie because I experienced redundancy recently but was lucky enough to be able to retire. Those who haven't been so lucky may find it painful viewing as I thought it really got to grips with reality. In fact this is one of the more enjoyable films that I have seen recently due to it's honesty. American movies (I'm English) often have a gloss to nasty situations but I found this very refreshing in its no-nonsense handling of a very painful subject, redundancy. In fact I found it riveting from beginning to end, mostly due to good directing, a tight script, beautiful photography, and splendid acting from Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Ben Affleck, Maria Bello, Craig T. Nelson and in particular in a small supporting role, an absolute knockout I thought, Kevin Costner. Highly recommended movie.