The Company Men : Wouldn't give up car or golf

Wouldn't give up car or golf

Is what made me disconnect with Affleck's character. Sure there are hundreds of thousands of people who lose their jobs but these guys were well off. They were RICH, making 6 figures. and Affleck freakes out and refuses to give up his golfing despite being in this situation? His response to 'look' the part was ridiculous.

Despite me being able to relate to the situation but not the characters made this a difficult film.

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Re: Wouldn't give up car or golf

that actually makes sense if you know that part of the world. golf is a social status, and that's how you network with other people. it should have worked out better for him to get another job. the porsche is about projecting success as well. however, from my personal experience people who buy (or rent) Boxsters (the cheapest porsche) are usually kids who come from poor families and can't handle the sudden influx of a lot of money. loads of those are available on the used market.
now is that a sympathetic character, I don't expect so. I think only tommy lee jones was sympathetic in this, and that's ok with me.

Re: Wouldn't give up car or golf

It is called denial.

Re: Wouldn't give up car or golf

Affleck ended up sympathetic, but I fully agree with the original poster about that scene at the hospital with him flipping out on his wife. Later on when he sells the car, when he accepts working for her brother, he became sympathetic.

But during the bulk of the movie, Tommy Lee Jones was the only one I could relate to, whose morals made him a bad executive. I literally said to my girlfriend "that's me, so I don't think I'm cut out to be an exec" when he was in the meeting about the second round of layoffs.

Re: Wouldn't give up car or golf

Tommy Lee's character was more sympathetic, but less realistic. People usually don't make that high without a cut-throat attitude. People like Ben Affleck's character, although a character you don't sympathize for half the movie, is much more realistic. Most making 6 figures, especially in Sales or Marketing, will have that major ego. Look at the Wall Street bankers. They are notorious for having a huge ego and constantly having to show their status.

Perhaps that's why they wrote both of these characters....one you can sympathize with and the other represents the more typical personality in that business.

Re: Wouldn't give up car or golf

If he had any game he would have turned the Club into a new opportunity. It is often said that more deals are made on the Golf Course than the Boardroom. Anyone who had earned a VP of Sales should have had that kind of moxie. He did not even act like the Type A personality that usually claim these kinds of jobs. Just one of many reasons the movie did not ring true.



Too many people use credit to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like.

Re: Wouldn't give up car or golf

"Tommy Lee's character was more sympathetic, but less realistic. People usually don't make that high without a cut-throat attitude."

i agree in general... and since the movie should not be about exceptions, your criticism is well founded...

that being said... Steve Wozniak, Warren Buffett, and Paul Allen are arguably exceptions...

- It has been said, that to write, is to live forever.... the man who wrote that... is dead! -

Re: Wouldn't give up car or golf

The movie did a good job because we all hating Ben's character at first but eventually he wised up and did get rid of the car and golf.

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Re: Wouldn't give up car or golf

Gene was just an idealistic blowhard. He had every opportunity in the world to keep his job, but he was ultimately removed from his position for insubordination. He was causing more problems than he was solving. I liked the CEO's line "I'm running a business, not a charity." It's a line that I use myself. People need to understand that there's a time to help people, and a time to earn a living, and charity's are much more effective with helping people than businesses.
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