Probably The Best Clooney Can Ever Get! Superb

Rating: 10/10 (3 July 2010)

There is no way that I could pass up the opportunity to review this film. This one superbly traps us up in the underpinnings of real life situational irony that only gives us few clues about who this guy, Jet-set Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) really is. The writing is always witty, drastically depressing (yet satirically hilarious) in places and always manages to deliver up an heir of living with purpose by the book and on the clock. Produced by Ivan & Jason Reitman, Jason gets totally behind this project by directing/co-writing this story along with Sheldon Turner pitching in on the screenplay.
This Ryan "guy" initially comes across as way too simple minded for me; the outward facade of a study in timing and efficiency. Everybody knows one of these "guys". It soon becomes evident that our guy is comfortable convincing himself & others of his total belief that he indeed has the perfect life. His only goal in life seems to become 1 of only 7 who hold the elite distinction of having flown 10 million miles with American Airlines. Don't get me wrong about this. My traveling days peeked with 12 take offs & landings in one week on commercial airlines across the U.S. in the late 80s & early 90s. I also had a severely depressing job selling computer software directly to funeral homes. Of course, people are still dying to get into the computer (pun intended)! Clooney reminds me of myself here. He's proud of the fact that he, of all the people in the world, is a "total professional" at firing people. He's proud of his corporate raider downsizing technique. Traveling lightly is not just an art, it's a necessity. Clooney gives us certain glimpses of this guy's soul (what makes him tick) to the tune of "I started out as a diamond, so don't rub coal on me" as opposed to "I'm just a lump of coal but I'm going to be a diamond someday." Jumping in bed with just anyone couldn't really happen with this guy. He totally falls for the gal that's his female counterpart he meets during connections at an airport bar watering hole.
Reitman & Turner create this world of words that is hard to duplicate with boring people. The quick witted banter is totally heady & shoots straight from the hip. The counterpart role of Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga) is comfortably romantic & played attractively & honestly. Little do we know whats really around the bend.
Fascinating things happen when Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) come into the picture. The down time, disappointment, & anxiety all build us up to the eventual meltdown/refreeze. Our "guy" Ryan really is a fascinating & caring person, yet somehow doesn't have the family roots to bring him back home much. Only his sister Julie (Melanie Lynskey) getting married (whom he isn't close with) will bring him back home to northern Minnesota. Sometimes he is comically depressing; other times, it's just plain common sense.
Just when you think he's headed for the pasture, things head "back east" for him & you somehow feel that same ole' familiar "guy" slipping back into his comfort zone, up in the air.
The cast is balanced off with funny people such as the groom Jim Miller (Danny McBride), the boss in Omaha, Craig Gregory (Jason Bateman), depressing people like Bob (JK Simmons) & Samuels (Steve Eastin), and last (but not least) Maynard Finch (Sam Elliot-Ghost Rider 2007). Funny that after 67 years, Elliot is still churning the butter. He & Kate Capshaw really where the hot tamales in The Quick & The Dead 1987.