Tockinit
not horrible nor great
Breakinger
A Brilliant Conflict
SparkMore
n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.
Walter Sloane
Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
The Couchpotatoes
Not my kind of movie, or better said not my kind of genre of movies. Financial drama's are a bit boring to watch. But this movie isn't bad if you like this genre. The cast is also great so just for that it's worth a watch. Just Ben Affleck, I don't find him a great actor, he's just average. And he has the major role so to me that was a bad choice. About the story it's a story from the modern ages, people losing their jobs while they live on a big foot. From one day to another they have a highly paid job but suddenly they can't pay their mortgage anymore. It's a classical story about people having a high living standard, with an oversized house, a couple luxury cars, expensive hobbies like golf, a bad habit of luxury dining out etc... And than suddenly they have to give up this way of living and that's sometimes too much to ask for some people. Instead if you would have lived normally they would have a financial cushion and would still be able to function normally in society even after being sacked. So to me it's all a bit boring as a story, just not my world, but it's still an okay movie to watch once, just once.
Vondaz
Having been there myself, there were certain elements of the movie that reminded me of the sheer desperation felt at not just losing your job, but also in the following months, or years, where you constantly fail to find employment. I never had any real sympathy with Ben Affleck's character because he was an alpha male who believed he was good enough. Even though his pride took a battering, there was an eventual way out provided by Tommy Lee Jones. We didn't actually see Ben's character find the job himself, he got it thanks to someone else's charity (or even guilt). I did feel for Chris Cooper's character in terms of the discrimination against his age, as that was also something I faced. However, I am not sure it was made clear just how he was so desperate that he killed himself. Surely that would've been just as embarrassing for his wife as if her neighbours learned he was out of work. As for Tommy Lee Jones's character, it seemed he was only there to provide the balance of the executive with a heart, in the face of other inconsiderate executives and an even more insensitive wife. They one to prove that there are altruistic rich people out there. The people I empathised with were the others in the outplacement centre. A place set up to replicate an office to try and engender a sense of "still going to work". A place so sterile in its sense of worth and purpose, that it actually drags you down further with each failed attempt by you or your "colleagues". I felt for the people who had been there for months, the ones who found that the only jobs available called for practical skills they didn't have such as construction - thereby making their white collar skills completely useless. The ones who had to keep themselves motivated to keep trying despite the knock backs - like Eamon Walker's character. At the end he still didn't have a job despite having been searching months before Ben's character. So whilst there was a nice tie up for Ben's character, there was still nothing for this guy. No matter how much he repeated the "self worth" mantra.So in conclusion it hit home and had a "happy ever after" ending and was a decent first screenplay . But on reflection, it focused on the wrong characters and should've shown how, through perseverance, you too can "find" a job (and not just have one drop in your lap).
rajatdahiyax
Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) is living the American dream: great job, beautiful family, shiny Porsche in the garage. When corporate downsizing leaves him and co-workers Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper) and Gene McClary (Tommy Lee Jones) jobless, the three men are forced to re- define their lives as men, husbands, and fathers. Bobby soon finds himself enduring enthusiastic life coaching, a job building houses for his brother-in-law (Kevin Costner) which does not play to his executive skill set, and perhaps the realization that there is more to life than chasing the bigger, better deal. With humor, pathos, and keen observation, writer-director John Wells introduces us to the new realities of American life.
Adam Peters
(46%) A movie looking at wealthier folk dealing with unemployment and money problems that only really half works, as showing such issues based around high-earners is somewhat unique, but at the same time many more people have gone through much, much worse leading to some of the scenes feeling a bit too bitter to swallow. The fact that Afleck's character battles to get back into a top job and has to settle for a while as a construction hand is a luxury many would have prayed for. And any sympathy for Chris Cooper's character losing his well paid job after many decades in a world of two year maximum contracts has to be forced out I'm afraid. Overall this is a fairly decent drama with a better cast than the film itself.