Review of Up in the Air (2009) by Mrx — 08 Jan 2010

As someone who was in a high-stress corporate job, glued to my office blackberry, and flying around to cheesy tech conventions where I had relations with other people I kept running into at said conventions from other companies.

. . . UNTIL I was laid off in a massive corporate downsizing fueled by the economic downturn. . . I can tell you all that this film nails so many different aspects of a very common, yet rarely dramatized, lifestyle in ways I would never have imagined.

For me, personally, the film was a very cathartic and riveting affair. It was a marvelous and moving experience. . . for ME, the guy who got a small taste of absolutely everything the movie is depicts.

THAT being said, I haven't recommended it to any friends whose life experience doesn't overlap those in the film. . . . as I'd imagine the events and characters could seem a bit arbitrary, self important, cold and un-engaging if you haven't seen everything on screen play out in real life in exactly the same way.

If you're going into this movie expecting lots of laughs, high-energy quirk, riveting drama, a clockwork-clever plot, or all of the above . . you'll probably hate every second. I didn't like "Brite Star", but that's mainly because I don't like Romantic Era poetry.

. . . if you don't have an interest in the absurd realities of corporate downsizing and blackberries'n'powerpoint culture, then don't see a movie about it. . . no matter how much you love George Clooney.