The Company Men

I love when I record something 6 months ago to finally watch it yesterday. What I love even more is when the film is excellent and I could have seen it 6 months earlier. This is another rare film where the critics rate it higher than users on RT and after watching it, I know exactly why. The reality of it. The subject matter had to hit really close to home for many Americans who lost their jobs during the economic failure a few years back. Bobby (Ben Affleck) is great at what he does. $120K + Bonus and incentives good, then like a fart in the wind, it's all gone. He and most everyone else in his department are fired without warning. Big businesses cutting back to make their bottom line more appealing for a possible sell out. Putting hundreds of people out of a job in order to pad the bank accounts of the few "higher ups". Greed at its finest. Bobby is prideful to say the least. Loves his Porsche, his million dollar home, his country club status and he doesn't want to give any of it up. Selfish man considering he has a wife and 2 kids to think about. Luckily he is married to the best woman alive. I mean in the history of EVER. I don't think this woman exists. That is why this film ultimately fall in the fiction category. She is exactly what he needs after 3 months of job searching when the severance is all gone. She is a realist who knows Family is number 1 and possessions are not important. It is funny what a 12 year old is able to teach a grown ass man when it comes to selfishness and how to see the bigger picture. As much as this is an Affleck vehicle, the list of stars in it flabbergasted me. Tommy Lee Jones is his Boss who had nothing to do with him being let go. Chris Cooper is a sad sack with 30 years with the company. Maria Bello is the brass in charge of firing people and yes her nipples do make a brief appearance as usual. Kevin Costner (Devil Anse Hatfield) is Bobby's Brother in Law/ Comic Relief, and Craig T. Nelson, aka Coach, is the Big Guy in charge, making sure he has plenty of money for himself. A really depressing film that is also very enjoyable to watch. I've been a bit of an Affleck fan of late, and this is no different. He does a great job as a man broken, looking for the mend, and trying to keep it together for everyone's sake. The underlying message is very clear, but it doesn't matter. Great film that should not collect dust on anyone's DVR for any amount of time let alone 6 months.


NBM rates The Company Men - Awesome