GREAT DARK COMEDY

Rating: 10/10 (3 December 2018)

I looked up dark comedy in the dictionary and it had "Up in the Air" by it. There isn't much plot to the movie, yet it keeps moving. It makes a statement about following your dreams, family, and goals as Clooney's words somehow always come back to haunt him. I had to laugh at loud when Sam Elliot came back to talk to Clooney about joining the 10 million mile club. Shades of "The Big Lebowski." I kept expecting him to call George "dude" and tell him he was his father. The movie is bittersweet at times and sad at others, although not a tear jerker. I was confused about his occupation. He is paid to come into an industry and tell the workers they are laid off. Doesn't HR fire people? Do they really hire an outside company to do that? The irony of a man who fires people for a living speaking at a conference called "Goalquest" is a bit Orwellian. The best line in the movie was during a firing that he allowed his young assistant to do. She got into trouble, so Clooney the master ax man, steps in and says, "Do you know why kids love ball players?" The old man says "Because the make a lot of money and have sex with beautiful women." Clooney responds, "No, that is why we love them. The reason why kids love them is because they followed their dream." He then convinces the man he can be a hero to grand kids by leaving this job and following his dream.