Shop For Up in the Air [Blu-ray]

For each of the three feature films Jason Reitman has directed, he has consistently set the bar very high for the source material he willing to adapt. While no source material will probably ever equal that which inspired Thank You for Smoking, Walter Kirn's novel is at least in the same league. While I'm not normally prone to lavish praise on George Clooney, after seeing his performance I would be hard pressed to cast another in the role of Ryan Bingham. He is confident without being smug with a disarming charm is mild enough to keep from raising undue suspicion. And, curiously enough, he is genuinely careful to break the bad news to the soon-to-be-unemployed as painlessly as possible with their pride not only intact but even bolstered.

The rising drama of the story comes when a very bright and even more ambitious young graduate proposes a means of completely streamlining the human element of what Ryan Bingham does in favor of a computer screen and a T-1 connection to the Internet. It's difficult to say whether it is understandable or ironic that Bingham would take such offense to the notion, but he is certainly offended! His punishment for not keeping that opionion to himself? He gets to personally train the young woman who made the proposal for virtual firing. At first, he is incredulous but he quickly realizes that this is really the best way to make his point and make it stick!

The reason I so loved Thank You for Smoking was that it made NO apologies for what it was, an absolutely ruthless satire! Unlike it or Juno, this at times tries a little too hard to not offend the sensibilities of a mainstream audience. Great premise and great direction, but I do wish some of the same ruthlessness that marked Reitman's first two films was present here as well. There should have been a menagerie of women with whom Ryan Bingham would cavort before he tried to make things work with one. And the second to last scene should have been him looking at all of these other women and feeling even more distant from that opposite sex than ever. That, for me at least, would have made the romantic elements of this story far less formulaic.

But, all in all, this film deserved far more attention that it received. It should have been a _real_ contender for best picture and not that mindless slop that Cameron was serving up! The Blu-ray disc is a worthy addition to the collection of anyone who cherishes intelligent films over special effects extravaganzas.Get more detail about Up in the Air [Blu-ray].