Traveling Light

Rating: 7/10 (11 January 2010)

"Up in the Air" is "The Accidental Tourist" light. A charming con man and road warrior (George Clooney) with, inexplicably, nothing to live for besides accruing frequent flier miles on a major airline eventually finds something (Vera Farmiga) to live for. Or does he?
That's it, and it's not much. Fortunately, getting there is at least half the fun. Until Clooney's character experiences his epiphany, the audience gets to enjoy the smooth illogic of his perverse sales pitches, the comedy of his office politics, the comedy of his sister's wedding preparations, his sophisticated banter with Farmiga's character ("I'm you with a vagina," she tells him) and her body double's well-equipped rear section, the angst of employees let go in a bad economy, Sam Elliott's increasingly face-dominating white mustache, and a couple of dozen high-definition shots of American cities taken from the air. If you like traveling by plane, you'll love this movie.
If truth be told, "Up in the Air" isn't Oscar material. As airplane movies go, it trails far behind "Airplane!," "Airport," and "The High and the Mighty." But there are enough pokes at hospitality industry loyalty programs, motivational speaking programs, and corporate business strategies and other laugh-out-loud lines to be worth the price of admission.
Clooney, whose real-life aversion to establishing a family is eerily similar to his character's, is fun to watch. He is a star who works in pictures as often as star system actors ever did. The other actors handle their material well enough. "Up in the Air" is from the director who brought us "Juno." There is some of the same wild premise and hip stoned sufferance here. It's a silly premise, but once you buy into it, it makes for a pleasant comedy and maybe a chick flick with a twist.