Double Feature

November 2009 - If you've read this column over the past couple of years, you know at least one thing about me: I love Greg Kinnear. Yes, I do, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. But, I must confess, I also have something of a crush on Dennis Quaid. I mean, the heart wants what the heart wants, right? And, I know in my heart that, like Kinnear, Quaid classes up any movie he's in.

Take, for example, Vantage Point. In this PG-13 movie from 2008, a terrorist attack leads to a wild chase through the streets of Spain for Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker and William Hurt.

Hurt plays the president of the United States, in Spain for a much-celebrated international anti-terrorism summit. Quaid and Fox are Secret Service agents assigned to his detail. Just as the president is about to speak at a huge outdoor event, he gets shot. Then, the stage he was standing on blows up. Chaos ensues.

We, the viewers, get to see this sequence of events multiple times, each time from the viewpoint of a different character. Eventually, the viewpoint becomes omniscient as the movie builds to its climax.

Overall review: Ehhh, it was OK. The movie has an intriguing concept and Quaid shines among an all-star cast. The first hour is interesting as the various vantage points are laid out. But, when the viewpoints merge in the final half-hour, the movie degenerates into an extended car chase. It's not bad as car chases go, but it's a bit of a letdown after such a promising start.

I also hoped for good things from In Good Company, a PG-13 comedy from 2004. But, even Quaid can't save this film, which also stars Topher Grace, Marg Helgenberger and Scarlett Johansson.

Quaid plays Dan Foreman, the middle-aged head of ad sales at a sports magazine in NYC. Over the course of a couple of days, he learns that his wife (Helgenberger) is unexpectedly pregnant, his 18-year-old daughter (Johansson) wants to transfer to the very expensive NYU and, thanks to a corporate takeover, his new boss is half his age.

Topher Grace plays that new boss, Carter Duryea. He has his own issues, namely that his wife has left him and that he really doesn't know what he's doing. Dad doesn't really care for Carter, but the daughter does. They start an affair and dad goes ballistic when he finds out.

Overall review: Hated it. The bottom-line, corporate culture of the movie rings true, but the movie should have focused more on Quaid's character. He and Helgenberger (who's really given nothing to do here) are wasted in favor of giving attention to the younger, less substantial couple.