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THE COMPANY MENMovie Reviews
Drama about a group of upper middle-class men surviving corporate downsizing and its ripple effects. Cast:Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner, Craig T. Nelson, Maria BelloDirector:John WellsRelease Date:December 10, 2010DVD Release:June 7, 2011From:The Weinstein CompanyRating:RLength:1 hr. 53 min.
The Company Men played in national release to good reviews. • Carrie Rickey wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer, "...intelligent, involving... Its principal assets are the incisive performances by Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, and Ben Affleck..." • And Dana Stevens wrote for Slate, "...a thoughtful, tasteful, and timely tribute to a few such men. If only the results weren't so respectably dull." More Reviews Below...
The Company Men Positive Reviews (47 Reviews, reviews below)
Richard Corliss, Time: EXCELLENT "In its solid construction and resistance to the winds of fashion, this is one edifice that could outlast many an action blockbuster or standard inspirational drama..."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,320 words, 12/12/10
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: MODERATE(cg) "...vaguely engaging... watching these veterans and heavyweights banter and bounce off each other can't convince us that the characters themselves are compelling..."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 744 words, 12/09/10
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a shrewd, timely, and terrifically engrossing drama of white-collar reckoning... The dialogue pings, and often stings."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 372 words, 12/03/10
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: VERY GOOD(cg) "Wells is a wonder with actors and a filmmaker with an instinct for the emotions that bleed between the lines. This haunting movie hits you hard and right where you live."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 256 words, 12/24/10
Scott Bowles, USA Today: VERY GOOD(cg) "...the movie's heart is in the right place. And there's something cathartic if not wholly effectual in the message: Even for the Italian sports car set, things are tough."(See all of Scott Bowles's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 414 words, 01/21/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...the actors are convincing, the film well-crafted... delivers few satisfactory character portraits because the movie isn't really about characters, it's about economic units."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 875 words, 01/20/11
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...realistic enough to make all corporate climbers, but especially men over 50, quake in their boots. If you are what you do, what are you if you're no longer doing it?"(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 934 words, 12/10/10
Michael Phillips, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...can be appreciated for a lot of reasons, yet they're frustrating. Wells casts a wide but synthetic net. An aura of well-intentioned generica muffles the dramatic impact..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 395 words, 12/10/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...the actors are convincing, the film well-crafted... delivers few satisfactory character portraits because the movie isn't really about characters, it's about economic units."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 875 words, 01/20/11
Karina Longworth, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...tough to take seriously as a portrait of our economic catastrophe, but as an exploration of the relationship between money and masculinity, it's pretty fascinating."(See all of Karina Longworth's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 678 words, 12/08/10
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: VERY GOOD(cg) "The cast does the heavy lifting... explores the rising panic of families who face the devastation of job loss with disturbing realism."(See all of Linda Barnard's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 755 words, 01/21/11
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "It's all hurry-up-and-wait, meandering one moment, hasty the next, here unbalanced and messy, there too tidy and neat."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 728 words, 01/21/11
Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "The acting is okay - no real surprise, given the cast - and cinematographer Roger Deakins ensures that the film looks good, but it has no originality."(See all of Glenn Sumi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 252 words, 01/20/11
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...intelligent, involving... Its principal assets are the incisive performances by Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, and Ben Affleck..."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 422 words, 01/21/11
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "Solid performances, and a sincere faith in the dignity of the average working stiff, save it from getting too preachy."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 567 words, 01/21/11
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Unless there are nostalgic viewers eager to revisit the nadir of the Great Recession, there's not much new information here to compel your attention."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 561 words, 01/21/11
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "...not a pretty story... But it's a compelling one and, thanks to Wells and a cast that includes Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper, an entertaining one."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 681 words, 01/21/11
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD(cg) "...good enough to make you want to see the next episode.... like its characters, a good and decent film in a world that rather heartlessly demands more."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 862 words, 01/21/11
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: EXCELLENT(cg) "Affleck and Jones are both wonderful... but Cooper steals the show. His exasperation and frustration personify what so many Americans are facing."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 362 words, 01/28/11
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...serious, thoughtful and often devastating... an undeniably sad movie, but a beautifully crafted one -- and, rare enough these days, a wise one."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 428 words, 01/21/11
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: FAIR(cg) "...terribly miscalculated on all counts, especially not recognizing its true place as a tearjerker on the Bloomberg channel."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 202 words, 01/27/11
Tom Long, Detroit News: MODERATE(cg) "...well-made, well-intentioned... also somewhat dull and depressing.... ends up limited in both scope and impact, and a bit too convenient for its own good."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 303 words, 01/28/11
Karina Longworth, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...tough to take seriously as a portrait of our economic catastrophe, but as an exploration of the relationship between money and masculinity, it's pretty fascinating."(See all of Karina Longworth's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 678 words, 12/08/10
Noel Murray, AV Club: VERY GOOD(cg) "...has an insider feel when it comes to how corporate layoffs work and how they affect workers of differing ages and social backgrounds."(See all of Noel Murray's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 372 words, 12/09/10
Bill Weber, Slant: WEAK(cg) "Comfort food for the corporate class in crisis... Wells frames and scripts so blandly that ace cinematographer Roger Deakins's work seems undistinguished..."(See all of Bill Weber's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 447 words, 12/05/10
Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "The acting is okay - no real surprise, given the cast - and cinematographer Roger Deakins ensures that the film looks good, but it has no originality."(See all of Glenn Sumi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 252 words, 01/20/11
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: WEAK(cg) "...well-intentioned... an admirable mission to capture our country's economic zeitgeist, but primarily it tries to sell us on things that we already know."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 603 words, 01/19/11
HIGHBROW PRESS (7 Reviews)
Bob Mondello, NPR All Things Considered: GOOD "...when it comes to the emotional state of those being laid off, of their families and even of those doing the laying off, it gets things right enough..."(See all of Bob Mondello's reviews...)(Listen to the full review...) 240 seconds, 12/10/10
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: MODERATE "...the episodic, 'E.R.'-like structure of the script vitiates the film's emotional impact.... Still, the film takes on its big subject forthrightly..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 295 words, 12/10/10
Stephen Holden, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...realistic enough to make all corporate climbers, but especially men over 50, quake in their boots. If you are what you do, what are you if you're no longer doing it?"(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 934 words, 12/10/10
David Denby, New Yorker: EXCELLENT "Affleck gives his best performance yet, and all the other actors are strong... when it stays with its real business -- the calamity of joblessness -- it is first rate."(See all of David Denby's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 530 words, 12/13/10
Michael Phillips, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...can be appreciated for a lot of reasons, yet they're frustrating. Wells casts a wide but synthetic net. An aura of well-intentioned generica muffles the dramatic impact..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 395 words, 12/10/10
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...straightforward topical melodrama... As ham-fisted as Wells' dialogue is through much of 'The Company Men,' the phenomenon he describes is real."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,177 words, 01/18/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Todd McCarthy, Daily Variety: WEAK "...the pain feels cushioned and secondhand... the film shows little interest in analyzing the situation other than to point fingers at greedy CEOs."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 913 words, 01/23/10
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: VERY GOOD "...displays the kind of guts John Wells always brought to his television work, which one can only hope continues on in other future film projects."(See all of Kirk Honeycutt's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 806 words, 01/24/10
Michael Phillips, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...can be appreciated for a lot of reasons, yet they're frustrating. Wells casts a wide but synthetic net. An aura of well-intentioned generica muffles the dramatic impact..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 395 words, 12/10/10
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: GOOD(cg) "...the lessons of the film do not ring true and are not compelling enough to convince us that there are always solutions... That said, the film is well acted..."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 880 words, 12/24/10
Stephen Holden, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...realistic enough to make all corporate climbers, but especially men over 50, quake in their boots. If you are what you do, what are you if you're no longer doing it?"(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 934 words, 12/10/10
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: MODERATE "...the episodic, 'E.R.'-like structure of the script vitiates the film's emotional impact.... Still, the film takes on its big subject forthrightly..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 295 words, 12/10/10
17.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Company Men's reviews are separated by an average 17.8 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The Company Men (47 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Company Men's reviews cover 97.1% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 24,962 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 531 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
The Company Men Coverage, Volume & Length (47 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 8 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Company Men's reviews on average broke 8 days after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The Company Men's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Company Men (47 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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