Frequent Flier Miles?? I guess they're kind of a big deal.

Rating: 7/10 (12 January 2010)

Important life lesson: If you're approaching an airport security checkpoint and you've an option of standing behind a party with small children, an elderly couple, or Asian businessmen, always go with the Asians because they're notorious for packing lite and inevitably will wear slip on shoes.
All of this as told by Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), a very very preferred customer of most airlines, hotels, and car rental agencies in the continental U.S. He's what they call a "termination specialist", which is a fancy word for someone who fires employees when the actual company doesn't have the balls or the inclination to do so themselves. Seems like a waste of time and money to me, but it's a good concept for the film and so I'll put that aside. Ryan's job requires him to travel endlessly to various companies to fire employees on site. Through this is he is able to avoid having to take on any lasting commitments or responsibilities that come along with setting down roots somewhere. His home is in the air, he proclaims. He feels more at home in a strange hotel than he does in his own cold, impersonal 1-bedroom apartment that he hardly ever sees. His own personal motto is "set down the backpack"; the backpack being the "stuff" that we acquire throughout our lives; the stuff that serves no purpose but to tie us to things that don't add up to a hill of beans in the end. "We all die alone" he states in one of his motivational set-down-the-backpack speeches at yet another out of state hotel.
Ryan firmly believes in his outlook and probably would have gone on that way indefinitely if it wasn't for a young ambitious employee Natalie (Anna Kendrick) who threatens his freedom when she proposes a new process by which all terminations would be conducted via the internet and a webcam. Through this innovation the employees would no longer be required to travel but would conduct their business through the central office. Ryan squirms at the thought.
The storyline is somewhat typical. Many films deal with the "changed man" concept, as does this one. However this one is more clever the most. The script is very intelligent and the main cast is commendable. George is his usual charming self, nothing new really from him this time. Vera Farmiga is steadily becoming one of my favorite actresses for good reason. But the standout one to me was Anna Kendrick. I'd only seen her in the much loved/much hated Twilight and even in that she stood out with her quirky bubbliness. Perhaps that's why I'm so impressed, but I feel like she's got good things in her future as an actress. She looks all of 12 years old but she held her own with one of the biggest stars in Hollywood; even outshined him in some scenes. Kendrick's character really makes the film what it is. Clooney's character feeds off of her innocence and fresh outlook on life; essentially creating the focal point of the film. Through a young girl who is still wet behind the ears, a hardened cynical older man finds himself. And suddenly cardboard cutouts don't seem all that ridiculous.
My rating: 7.4/10