Who’s in it?: George Clooney (From Dusk til Dawn, Out of Sight), Vera Farmiga (Departed, Running Scared), Anna Kendrick (Twilight, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World ), Danny McBride (Eastbound and Down, Pineapple Express)

Great movie.  I will just throw that out there.  In fact, I’ve seen it a few times since the first time I saw it in June, so we can just get that out of the way.

Here’s the lowdown on this one.  Clooney loves to fly.  His job is to fly all over the country and fire people.  I never said this was a happy story.  So dude flies around from city to city and fires people…excuse me, ‘let’s them go’ so that the companies they work for don’t have to.  Corporate downsizing, ain’t it a bitch? 

He loves the life; airports, hotels, bars, one night stands.  Basically anything that keeps him away from his home.  But the dude lives in Tulsa.  I mean there aren’t many places that are steps down from Kansas, but Tulsa, Oklahoma has to be one of them.  No offense to Oklahoma folks.  I’m sure they think the same thing about Kansas– and they should.

So, George has a goal in mind in achieving a rare feat in racking up frequent flyer miles, but being this a movie and all movies need a conflict, of course he meets his own challenges.  Along the way, he gets lessons in life and love in people and places he never thought he’d get them from.  Look, the real point of this movie is how cool would it be to just have the freedom to just fly from place to place every day or every week, meet people, get in adventure?  Maybe not the firing people part.  I could do without that.

Up in the Air is very well written and well directed by Jason Reitman, who you may know as the director of “Juno”.  It has several great cameos by very funny actors in little bit parts here, such as Zack Galifianakas and J.K. Simmons.

9/10

Would I recommend this movie?: Yes. I would.  It’s a great date movie because the ladies will love it because it has George Clooney wearing suits and acting charming and guys will dig the subtle humor.  Plus guys get the benefit of wife/girlfriend/date having watched Clooney act all humbled for two hours.  Ladies, look at your man, now look at George Clooney, now back at your man.  He’s not George Clooney, but he’s there and George Clooney isn’t.