Paternal Quaid Shines With Considerable Grace

Some time ago, my friend and I rented Win a Date With Tad Hamilton, and she developed a slight crush on Topher Grace, who was undeniably adorable in that film and was always, to my mind, by far the most appealing cast member on The 70s Show. He comes across so differently than tabloid darling Ashton Kutcher. He just seems like a sweet, classy guy next door. A recent trip to Hollywood Video yielded another film starring the graceful young actor, and once again he showed that he is head and shoulders above his classless television co-star. In Good Company is an engaging coming of age story with a side order of commentary on the pitfalls of corporate America, and though he’s a bit less naive here, Grace is nonetheless a guy we want to root for.

Grace co-stars as Carter Duryea, a driven youth who finds himself in charge of an advertising agency. He doesn’t really know what he’s doing, and that comes across especially in his first meeting with his new underlings. But he’s likable enough, and he seems to want what is best for the company, so his employees grudgingly accept his presence. But reporting to him is especially difficult for Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid), who has been at this firm for years and is passionate about what he does. It’s hard being demoted, especially by someone who really is not very engaged in the work he is doing. It becomes harder when long-time employees begin to get laid off as a cost-cutting measure that Carter protests but ultimately has little control over. Luckily for Dan, however, Carter likes him and doesn’t plan to turn him out of the company if he can help it. It makes for heightened job security, but Dan still has trouble adjusting to the new order of things.

At home, his life is in turmoil too. He’s just learned that his wife Ann (Marg Helgenberger) is pregnant, which produces very mixed feelings. He’s pleased and excited, but he’s also worried. This was very unexpected, and with a potentially shaky job situation, he’s not sure the family is financially ready for this new arrival, especially with his oldest daughter Alex (Scarlett Johansson) heading to the monstrously expensive NYU for classes. Alex also becomes important in Carter’s life as the movie progresses – this was advertised as a romantic comedy though the humor is understated and the romance is actually a pretty small part of the film – but this father-daughter relationship is perhaps the most important in the movie. It signals to Carter the difference between what he has and what he actually wants. Money is a very cold companion when it’s all you have, and this is something that the young executive must find out for himself.

There are solid performances all around, especially by the two leading men. Dan is paternal and passionate; Carter is driven but unfulfilled. They learn from one another. Alex is a sweet-natured character, though her lack of contact with her father after she moves out for college is frustrating. Helgenberger and Quaid have natural chemistry, making the family environment Carter sees all the more appealing. Zena Grey is underused as Dan’s younger daughter; her presence in the film is so minimal that I don’t really know why that character had to exist at all. The most notable of the other smaller roles is David Paymer as Morty, a glum, hen-pecked long-time executive who is one of Dan’s closest friends at work. He provides several small comedic touches.

The movie isn’t too kind to corporate America. It shows how huge companies swallowing up smaller companies ruins lives. It also demonstrates that there are more important things than career advancement. Doing something you feel passionate about is important. Surrounding yourself with people you care about is even more important. By the end of the movie, Carter has seen it all, and to some it might seem that he is far worse off than before. But what he has lost in prestige and fancy cars, he has gained in wisdom, which is a far more valuable commodity.