Up in the Air

25. Up in the Air

Up in the Air landed in my possession the same way that It's Complicated did...in the form of an Academy screener. Never being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I decided to give it a shot last night. I'd heard lots of good things about it so my expectations were up a bit. I'm extremely pleased to say that it met and exceeded all of my expectations and then some.

I was only vaguely familiar with the plot going in. Basically, George Clooney stars as a man whose job is to fly from company to company telling people that they're being fired. He lives on the road and is quite good at what he does. However, things take a turn when his company takes the idea of a fresh faced college graduate, played by Anna Kendrick, and decide to run with it, effectively phasing out Clooney's job. Clooney gets one last effort on the road, taking Kendrick with him to show her what his job really entails.

I'm a big George Clooney fan. There's something about him that I just really like. He's very charismatic and just gives off an easygoing charm that comes right off of the screen. Also, he's just really cool as hell. He's great here in a performance that has garnered a lot of buzz about a possible Academy Award nomination. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if he did get one. Anna Kendrick is good here. I hadn't really seen much of her previous work but I'd give them a shot, based on this one. Her character starts off pretty unlikeable but by the end of the movie, I was pretty smitten with her. She's extremely cute too. Vera Farmiga, Danny McBride and Jason Bateman are solid here, as always. There's a really cool cameo at the end by a real man's man but I won't spoil who it is for those who haven't seen it. Let's just say that seeing him appear on the screen made me smile as he's not seen nearly often enough these days.

The story is interesting as you know that folks like this do really exist. There are a few subplots that work really well and don't feel out of place at all. Some movies have these subplots that meander aimlessly and don't ultimately make any sense. Not here. I guess my only complaint about this one is the ending seems rather abrupt. Not really a big deal but I felt it.

Overall, I give Up in the Air my highest possible recommendation. It's well worth seeing.