# "Up in the Air" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 4, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020 "2009-12-04T19:55:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/21 "2010-01-04T19:03:05Z")
Also in the camp of, very good, but not an Oscar winner. The one surprise I had Was that I thought - FOR SURE - he’d get to 999 000 miles and then decide it wasn’t worth it and just start using up his miles. I still think that would have been better. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/22 "2010-01-04T20:31:24Z")
Scott Glenn’s mustache was worth the price of admission all by itself. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/23 "2010-01-04T20:44:22Z")
Sam Elliott. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/24 "2010-01-04T20:45:32Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Sam Elliott. And he always has that mustache. It’s just getting grayer. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/25 "2010-01-04T20:58:58Z")
> [@phreesh](#): > > Also in the camp of, very good, but not an Oscar winner. > > The one surprise I had > > Was that I thought - FOR SURE - he’d get to 999 000 miles and then decide it wasn’t worth it and just start using up his miles. I still think that would have been better. My problem with that scene was: I would have figured he’d know to the mile where he was on the race to 10 million. When the announcement came, I thought for sure it would be for someone else, not him. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/26 "2010-01-04T21:37:18Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Is _Up in the Air_ enjoyable? Certainly. Is it a good movie? Compared to what? Compared to most of the others we saw in 2009, yes. Compared to _The Hurt Locker_ or _District 9_, no. Those are better movies. But they aren’t movies about us here in the U.S. today leading our ordinary lives. We need movies, good movies, on those. I’ll take more _Up in the Air’s_, even if they aren’t great, because they are at least good. I’m not sure I get what you are saying. I thought The Hurt Locker was a very good movie, too, and yes, it is certainly not an every day movie. What might be a deeper, better everyday movie? What is a _great_ every day movie? I don’t say this in a confrontational manner, I’m just curious. Maybe you feel about Up in the Air the way I felt about Reitman’s Juno. I appreciated it and was entertained, but most (not all) of the time, it felt a little too superficial/smart ass for me. I liked Up in the Air a lot better. It didn’t really feel like a romantic comedy to me. I think Clooney made what he was doing look a lot easier than it was. **jsc1953,** I love It Happened One Night, too. FWIW, it one several awards including Oscars for Best Actor and Best Actress. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/27 "2010-01-04T21:39:09Z")
> [@Caprese](#): > > **jsc1953,** I love It Happened One Night, too. FWIW, it one several awards including Oscars for Best Actor and Best Actress. Only 3 movies have swept the Best Picture/Actor/Actress/Director awards: It Happened One Night, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Silence of the Lambs. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/28 "2010-01-04T21:42:12Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > My problem with that scene was: > > I would have figured he’d know to the mile where he was on the race to 10 million. > When the announcement came, I thought for sure it would be for someone else, not him. Well, That was one of the changes he realized during the film. The old Ryan would have known to the mile. To the new Ryan, it really wasn’t as important anymore ---
**Author:** ![Snite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Snite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snite)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/29 "2010-01-04T22:30:44Z")
Loved it. I’m not surprised at the brother-in-law opening to him as he was a man in need and wouldn’t feel as ashamed talking to a stranger. However, this is one film where I really feel like the main character deserved a happy ending(even though I knew it wasn’t coming, it’s obvious abouthalf-way through this is a tragedy) so I left the theater quite let down ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/30 "2010-01-04T23:32:14Z")
I would disagree that it’s a tragedy. True, he doesn’t get the girl in the classic rom-com sense. But he goes through many changes and comes out a better person. He realizes that he needs some things in his backpack; he reaches out to his family (evidenced by his honeymoon gift to his sister) and when last we see him he’s scanning the Departures board, picking a destination, just as someone previously had wished she could do. All changes for the better. ---
**Author:** ![aaelghat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c5a1d2/32.png) [@aaelghat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaelghat)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/31 "2010-01-17T19:03:56Z")
OK, I just saw this movie. A couple of questions… Towards the end, his boss tells Clooney that he’s going back up in the air, Clooney says, “where to”. And I \*think \* the boss says something like go “sail to sail” send me a postcard. Does that mean that when Clooney went to the airport at the end and was looking at the departure board, he was choosing where to go for work? Was there any significance in the shot, where they were shooting him staring up at the departure board and he lets go of his suitcase handle? ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/32 "2010-02-15T05:42:56Z")
Sorry to bump this thread. I saw this tonight (it’s not like I was going to see “Valentine’s Day”) and I really liked it. That’s not why I’m bumping this, though. My dad is now retired, but before he retired, he was a big-time management consultant. Global Director of Quality Assurance or something like that for one of the Big Four. Took a buyout when they spun off the consulting division. Used to be a Million Mile Flyer on Delta. He saw Up in the Air, and he hated it. HAAATED it. “It was totally unrealistic. The acting was awful, and George Clooney’s character was all concerned about his miles… I don’t understand how this got nominated for an Oscar,” he said. Probably says more about my dad than the movie, but I thought I’d throw that out there. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/33 "2010-02-15T17:00:26Z")
SanibelMan, i’m with your dad. utterly unrealistic, mediocre acting, yadda yadda yadda. Varmiga’s uptight neuroticism was overplayed. Clooney’s change of heart comes entirely too quickly and easily. The company retreat they crash ending up on a yacht? not even Google/Virgin treats their employees that well. i mean seriously. clooney spends his entire life alienating women and reveling in a lifestyle and one quick fling and he’s head-over-heels in love? Then the woman AGREES TO GO TO A WEDDING? I’m 23 and i know that when i invite a chick to be my +1 for a wedding… that’s a BIG DEAL. Clooney’s a shade past 40 in the movie. that’s practically a proposal, isn’t it? Given his commitment issues, isn’t that just a huge red flag for “hey. this guy is falling for me. i’ve got a husband and kids. saying yes would be a terrible idea.” ??? whoever said that this movie was big hollywood trying to skew indie but failed was right on the money. a big reveal of - hey. she’s married - was uber-contrived. Reitman says this is his favorite movie to date, but there’s no way that’s true. it pales in comparison to “thank you for smoking” where the internal conflict is so much more significant. aaron eckhart played the “asshole with morals” so much more convincingly than clooney. plus the comic relief with the evil lobbyists was topical and hilarious. what comic relief did this movie have? a spazzy 22 year old redhead? Jason Batemen in glasses? the fact that an indian guy and a ginger made love? maybe i’m just bitter because i had such high expectations for this movie and was let down, or maybe it’s compounded bitterness that apparently everybody in hollywood is in LOVE with this movie and i’m not. it definitely isn’t one of the top films of this year, and it’s slightly insulting that it’s in contention for best picture. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/34 "2010-02-15T17:08:55Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > it definitely isn’t one of the top films of this year Yeah, actually, it is. > [@pancakes3](#): > > it’s slightly insulting that it’s in contention for best picture. No, actually, it’s not. Well, in my opinion, of course. As your opinions are your own. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/35 "2010-02-15T17:17:19Z")
It’s one of my top 3 or 4 movies this year, so I’m glad to see it get Oscar attention. I thought all three principal actors were great. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/36 "2010-02-15T17:24:29Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > a spazzy 22 year old redhead? Jason Batemen in glasses? the fact that an indian guy and a ginger made love? I’m sure I have no idea what you are talking about and I saw this movie twice. Did you think Anna Kendrick’s character was a redhead? As an aside, this whole ginger thing has gotten too big too fast 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/37 "2010-02-15T17:43:33Z")
Liked the film, found the characters engaging, enjoyed following along the story line. But give it a thumbs down because unless you have an ending you don’t have a film. I’m not asking for every thread to be neatly tied up, but you don’t just stop a film without writing an ending. And that’s what this felt like. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, and I’ll be shocked if it’s even nominated for an Oscar, much less wins one. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/38 "2010-02-15T17:45:27Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, and I’ll be shocked if it’s even nominated for an Oscar, much less wins one. Uhh.. Oscar nominations came out a while ago, and it had several nominations including Best Picture. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/39 "2010-02-15T17:48:21Z")
Yeah, it was nominated for 6 Oscars: ``` * Actor in a Leading Role * Actress in a Supporting Role * Actress in a Supporting Role * Directing * Best Picture * Writing (Adapted Screenplay) ``` ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020/40 "2010-02-15T17:51:54Z")
:smack: My bad. But I still think it was a crap ‘no ending at all’ ending, and doesn’t deserve an Oscar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-in-the-air/520020.md?page=3)