HEFE'S REVIEW OF:
UP IN THE AIR (2009)

OPENING THOUGHTS

    I was "up in the air" about seeing this movie. Ok, I wasn't but I thought that would be a really clever thing to say. As soon as I heard that this was another film written and directed by Jason Retiman, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I watched it. When it got nominated for a bunch of Oscars, that only cemented the idea. I was kind of "up in the air" about writing a review for this film after I watched it though... ok that was also a lie, but I am going to make this cheap and shitty pun work if it's the last thing I do.

ACTING

    GEORGE CLOONEY has made a career out of nothing more than a sideways vagina... wait no I mean a sideways smile. Well whichever the case may be, that is where he makes his bread and butter. He is not a bad actor by any means, but he has never done anything that has blown me away. In a lot of ways he kind of reminds me of Richard Gere, who isn't terrible either, but rarely does anything to knock my socks off. He was fine in this role, but I guess I am not seeing what all the hubbub is about with this performance. It was perfectly adequate.
    VERA FARMIGA on the other hand did a very good job. Her performance was varied, interesting and believable. I also appreciated her nude scene, I read on the internet that a body double was used for that scene, and you know what, that is ok. I didn't enjoy it any less, there is just something unexplainably awesome about seeing a nice healthy sack of side boob.
    ANNA KENDRICK also did a pretty good job, but I really didn't feel she was on the same level as Farmiga was. I think the problem I had with her performance was that it felt like she was trying to hard and as a result everything she did felt fake, forced and wooden. The scene where she was supposed to be crying in the hotel lobby was so incredibly awkward to watch, and not for the reasons you might think. The scene itself is supposed to be awkward, and I get that, but seeing watching her trying to display real emotion was like orgasming to she-male porn and not realizing it was a she-male until the point of climax. You can't take it back, and it makes you feel all weird.

DIRECTION AND SCRIPT

    JASON REITMAN is rapidly becoming one of my favorite filmmakers. First he blows me away with Thank You For Smoking, then he follows that up with Juno, and now he has made his first "sell-out" movie, and managed to do it without the movie feeling like it was a sell-out. He managed to get an inflated budget and an inflated actor and still put on a quality show. I really liked his decision to interview people who were recently fired documentary style and mix their reactions in with the actors seen in the movie. It really made the film feel more real and more relevant.
    JASON REITMAN and SHELDON TURNER did a first-rate job adapting this script from the book of the same name, and I am basing that statement on no evidence whatsoever. Admittedly I have not read the book, so I cannot testify as to how true to the novel the film was. I can however comment on how much I enjoyed the characters, the unusual storyline and the excellent dialogue seen in this film. What is really great about this movie is that although this is a drama, there is just enough humor to keep the film from getting bland. So I guess you could say the writing didn't really leave a whole lot "up in the air". Fuck that sucked, I am sorry.

THE VERDICT

    This is a drama for the masses, many Oscar films are technically good, but bore a lot of people to death. This is not the case with this film. Clooney might be a touch overrated, but superb writing and direction more than make-up for that. This is one of the better films of the year, and at the very least, it is much better and more enjoyable than the Hurt Locker was. You should not "feel up in the air" about your decision to watch this film... you're welcome.
 
 

RATING: B

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