Movies
In the Company of Men
Cold, abstract, almost hypothetical proposition concerning a couple of mid-level corporate pricks -- a stiff one and a limp one -- who, on an out-of-town assignment, form a pact to avenge themselves on the opposite sex (i.e., "restore a little dignity to our lives"; i.e., "payback"). To that end, the plan is to woo and then dump some needy wallflower, and their selected pigeon, who hardly looks to fill the bill, is the lovely Stacy Edwards, a stone-deaf secretary, with consequently a slight and heart-melting speech impediment. It turns out, in a "surprise twist," that there is another agenda altogether. The dialogue is stagy, but not the carefully thought-out, strategized, geometrized visuals: lots of long shots for literal "distancing," and lots of door-and-window framing devices for additional separation. Aaron Eckhart as the aggressive, venomous, bullying one (joke: "What's the difference between a golf ball and a G spot? I'll spend twenty minutes looking for a golf ball") is revoltingly convincing. With Matt Malloy; written and directed by Neil LaBute. 1997.
Reader Rating:
MPAA Rating: R