The timely odyssey of Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), a corporate downsizer and consummate modern business traveler who, after years of staying happily airborne, suddenly finds himself ready to make a real connection.
Ryan has long been contented with his unencumbered lifestyle lived out across America in airports, hotels and rental cars. He can carry all he needs in one wheel-away case; he's a pampered, elite member of every travel loyalty program in existence; and he's close to attaining his lifetime goal of 10 million frequent flier miles—and yet... Ryan has nothing real to hold onto.
When he falls for a simpatico fellow traveler (Vera Farmiga), Ryan's boss (Jason Bateman), inspired by a young, upstart efficiency expert (Anna Kendrick), threatens to permanently call him in from the road. Faced with the prospect, at once terrifying and exhilarating, of being grounded, Ryan begins to contemplate what it might actually mean to have a home.
Enh. This was by no means a bad film, but I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would. It is very funny, and it does a lot to reinforce George Clooney's persona as one of the smoothest dudes out there. I think perhaps the thing I didn't like the most was how inconclusive it felt by the end. The plot seemed a little muddles and hard to follow, and by the end, none of the many possible storylines were very satisfactorily resolved. I think most critics liked this for the same reason they liked "Lost In Translation": it's about an alienated guy who floats through his own life, only briefly making any sort of human connection. I very much like Ryan Bingham as a character; a person so very det
It's always great to see George Clooney on screen, but that's pretty much the only appeal of this movie. Very draggy and I honestly don't get the hype about it.
This movie was average, at best. It did have a smart script, which showed the tough economic times, and trouble finding true love and relationships. But, the movie dragged. I thought the ending was predicatable. I thought Vera Farmiga was great. I thought Clooney simply played himself.