THE COMPANY MEN Review (2-1/2 out of 5 stars)

Might’ve been a great film if the director had downsized Affleck.

This is for the most part an upper class story, of wealthy men suffering the loss of their income and nervously eyeing their potential new spots in the middle class. (In other words, none of them have to live out of their cars.) The story is obviously applicable to our dark economic times, and Academy Award winners Chris Cooper, Tommy Lee Jones, and – get this – Kevin Costner all deliver excellent performances. But the typically smirking Ben Affleck sadly and perhaps unsurprisingly strikes out as Bobby, THE COMPANY MEN’s central character.

High-flying corporate exec Bobby Walker is let go from his job alongside fellow masters of the universe Phil Woodward (Cooper) and Gene McClary (Jones). Shaken, the three men must go about reinventing their careers while coming face to face with the real state of their family lives.

Bobby is so obnoxious you have to wonder what his smart, independent-thinking wife Maggie (well played by Rosemarie Dewitt) sees in the guy. Arriving late to his cushy job that fateful morning - bragging about his golf game, no less - he’s simply amazed that his employer doesn’t see the value in keeping him. He condescends to his wife, forgets his son (while Affleck’s old enough to father a teen, it still doesn’t look right) and outright insults his working class brother-in-law for offering him a job – all long enough into the film that his eventual, forced turnaround near the end doesn’t feel earned. After all that, (spoiler) he’s presented with a near perfect job again, and with all his old coworkers to boot. Happy ending! Really? With all the horror stories out there, Walker’s tale doesn’t come across as particularly realistic. And Affleck’s constant virtual wink at the camera – look at me as the rich guy toughing it out among the regular folk! – is neither cute nor amusing. Affleck’s shoddy acting aside, the life education his character receives in THE COMPANY MEN isn’t enough to warrant Walker’s placement at the heart of what would otherwise be a decent film.

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