Such Great Heights

"Up in the Air" Reviewed

I have liked the previous two films directed by Jason Reitman, "Thank You for Smoking" and "Juno." In my opinion, he really captures the speech and sensibility of this generation and the films have a kind of ironic humor that we get.

"Up in the Air" is Reitman's best film yet. Companies hire George Clooney's character to fire their employees when needed. Anna Kendrick is outstanding as Clooney's protege (and would probably get an Oscar if it weren't for Mo'nique-but that's another post).

The film to me speaks mainly about two issues: the economy and single men.

Clooney's character starts out very independent, afraid of commitment, alone (but not lonely-not that he'd admit it). He's the perfect actor to play this character. In the film's events, he changes and sees the value of connections and family, especially how important these things can be in the face of the loss of a job.

While I was watching this movie, I was thinking "Every single guy out there should see this movie." I believe single men these days have commitment-phobia more than ever. It's indicative in the number of single people increasing and the amount of divorces occurring. To my dismay, many single women think they have to buy into this; it's not ok to want to be married (if you are over the age of 25).

I don't have any solutions to this and if I did, I'd probably be making a ton of money selling books. Commitment and love is valued in our society (and in this movie) so to the single guy, I say this: how can all those people be wrong??