Up in the Air

Jason Reitman, 2009 (7.6*)
This is pleasant fluff that spends a lot of time traveling but ultimately arrives nowhere. I suppose it's George Clooney's clout in Hollywood that got this film a much higher total of Oscar nominations than it really deserved. I can see maybe one for screenplay, maybe one for Vera Farmiga's supporting performance if you can overlook the fact that the two lead actresses here had perhaps the worst hairdos in a major film in recent memory - really, they were so bad that it was distracting to me.

Clooney plays a confirmed bachelor with no attachments who spends 80% of his time on the road as a corporate hit man, performing layoffs that the home companies don't have the guts for. His only stated goal in life is attaining the "10 million mile club" of American Airlines. He runs into Farmiga (hey, change your name!) on the road, who becomes his love buddy. His 'fresh out of college' cohort has a scheme to save all the travel expenses for his company: firing people over a webcam. The Oscar nomination for Anna Kendrick was hard to believe after seeing this - all I can say is "weak year for films" as this one defies belief.

This will entertain you for ninety minutes, but without much humor; then you'll forget about it when it's over. It makes a few comments about lifestyles but without digging too deeply or trying too hard, relying more on Clooney's charm than much else.