Solid direction, solid acting, solid screenwriting. The story is excellent, but a tad manipulative, more noticeably toward the end. Still, the film makes for an extremely entertaining evening.

Dennis Quad is a family man in his fifties, nice guy, handworker. New financial burdens strike at the same time as a corporate restructuring which leaves him answering to a boss half his age.

The film is written and directed by the same people who put together "About a boy." That fact and a good trailer, put me in the seat for this film. Both films enjoy focusing on a seemingly successful guy, eventually we (and that person) realize that he is fine, but not whole. The big picture: a sort of inadvertent entertaining stumble into a more meaningful life. Both screenplays do an excellent job of keeping that stumble, light, funny, and unconventional.

"In good company" seems to be a story about a middle-aged man dealing with change; it really ends up digging into the doubts of a financially driven young man.

Though flaws are hard to find, (besides minor manipulation) possibly the only thing that comes close is character coverage. There's more that could have been explored. Each of three (four, including the mother) main characters are on the brink of important life changes. The filmmakers quickly win us over to each of them and their individual plights, but alas, there is only time to highlight one rite of passage.

The film keeps itself welcoming, like a good family, but not preachy, not too kind. The acting and direction top notch, you'll get your money's worth.

Scarlett says of her character, "Alex resonated with me. We're the same age and a lot of what she's going through -- moving out and trying to figure out what she really wants to do -- is something that I went through not too long ago. It's a good fit."

This film screened at a Mann Theatre.