This breezy and bittersweet drama carries dark resonance for a society caught in the middle of both recession and downsizing
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10/22/09
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Up in the Air (2009)
88
%
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Reviews Counted:98
Fresh:86
Rotten:12
Average Rating:7.9/10
Consensus: Led by charismatic performances by its three leads, director Jason Reitman delivers a smart blend of humor and emotion with just enough edge for mainstream audiences.
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: After getting Oscar attention for JUNO, director Jason Reitman turns to this adaptation of Walter Kirn's comic novel. Academy Award-winner George Clooney stars as Ryan Bingham, a businessman on the... [More]
Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey
Director: Jason Reitman
Reviews for Up in the Air
It’s one of those rare mainstream Hollywood pictures that addresses contemporary issues gracefully.
09/14/09
Hugely enjoyable, well written comedy-drama that delivers a powerful emotional kick, thanks to terrific performances and strong chemistry between Clooney and Farmiga.
10/22/09
Reitman is a feverishly talented and meticulous filmmaker; he’s also an unapologetically populist one.
09/18/09
It seems to be struggling between populist and satirical impulses. But there are many, many moments it gets right and it's an enjoyable, if minor entry in the year-end movie rush.
12/04/09
In its funny, rueful way, Up in the Air touches contemporary American notes few Hollywood movies acknowledge.
12/04/09
There are many easy jokes here, and they don't always jibe well with the recurrent spectacle of Bingham and Natalie's interviewees getting their lives cut apart one after the other.
12/03/09
Up in the Air never cheats and delivers an almost perfect mix of humor, satire, and underplayed drama.
12/03/09
[Jason] Reitman's most mature film to date is about as grown-up, smart and savvy a film as anyone could hope for from Hollywood.
12/03/09
Does it live up to the hype? Hell yeah!
09/11/09
Mr. Clooney is perfect in the role of Ryan: aloof without seeming uncaring, roguish without being threatening, lost but with a veneer of control.
12/04/09
The increasingly slick Reitman...has the good sense to not slather every emotional beat in score and really seems to like his actresses.
09/20/09
...[an] observation, and that is the many parallels between "Up in the Air" and Alexander Payne's "About Schmidt." I for one would much rather see the gifted younger Reitman under the influence of Payne than Diablo Cody dialogue.
12/03/09
It would be easy to make Ryan a louse or a hero who just needs a bit of armor polish. Clooney makes Ryan both ruthless and sympathetic.
12/03/09
Nobody gets offended, nothing gets questioned, the crowd goes home properly cheered.
11/30/09
An assertively, and unapologetically, tidy package, from its use of romance to instill some drama into the narrative (the book introduces disease instead) and the mope-rock tunes that Mr. Reitman needlessly overuses.
12/04/09
Top CriticShows the very growth and evolution that proves [Reitman] is a filmmaker who will be with us, making quality films that leave us deeply moved, for a very long time.
09/14/09
This is Reitman's third film, and he has proven in each of them to be able to transcend gimmick and make it personal and then further transcend that and make it universal.
12/03/09
Every time we think we know what cliched path this movie's about to follow, the smart storytelling confounds our expectations and veers off into less-traveled, and more recognizably human, territory.
12/03/09
Up in the Air takes the trust people once had in their jobs and pulls out the rug. It is a film for this time.
12/03/09
Top CriticLatest News for Up in the Air
December 03, 2009:
Awards Tour: National Board of Review Winners List!
The first major awards ceremony, the National Board of Review, has announced their winners of the year. More...
December 03, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Everybody's Fine Is Just OK
This week at the movies, we've got a fractured family (Everybody's Fine, starring Robert De Niro and Drew Barrymore); a sibling rivalry (Brothers, starring Natalie Portman and... More...
December 03, 2009:
Five Favorite Films with Jason Reitman
It's no secret that director Jason Reitman comes from an established Hollywood pedigree, and while his father, Ivan Reitman (Stripes, Ghostbusters), is remembered most for his... More...
October 04, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review 
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