It concerns Bingham (Clooney), the globe-traveler who does it for the perks. But this idyllic existence is shaken up by two new women in his life: 1. Alex Goran (Farmiga), sexy, honest, described best by herself as "you, with a vagina", and 2. Natalie Keener (Kendrick), youthful, aggressive, and the next step for her debate-a-minute role in Rocket Science. Keener proposes to the organization that instead of using road warriors like Bingham to do their bidding, they simply interface with the unsuspecting employee via webcam and devastate their lives. My guess for the next step is, they replace the guys in The Messenger and send widows a folded e-flag. Testing his necessity, Bingham's boss (Jason Bateman, full of catchphrases and rehearsed encouragement) partners him with Keener for the next leg of his hack-and-slash fest. It is during this trip that she raises a question Bingham has answered but never really thought about; is there someone out there for you? He and Alex have hotel-room trysts every time their travel schedules coincide, but he's never trusted her with anything resembling commitment. Should he take the romantic plunge, even as he plunges the careers of countless others down the job-market toilet?

I was utterly impressed with this film. The opening scenes threw me a bit as things happened quicker than I imagined they would, but after the slight turbulence, it was nothing but smooth sailing. Reitman has outdone himself; he masterly combines the themes of romantic and emotional responsibility (Juno) with the cold-hearted honesty of business (Thank You for Smoking). He also did some excellent writing and casting, as several roles were written with their respective actors in mind. It's hard to like a man who ends livelihoods for a living, but I don't think there's a man in Hollywood more charming than George Clooney. As he's giving a speech on why less attachments in life is healthier, you notice a wide grin on his face that turns down on the ends. He's still trying to convince himself, and throughout the film the audience gets more and more attached to the success or failure of his existential quandary. Farmiga too brings a real warmth to her character, but there's a mystery to her aura that draws one in, curious(ly attracted). But my favorite part is that of Kendrick's. It would've been so easy for her to play a naive and dumbstruck scene-stealer, but she's so much: a savvy number-cruncher who initially took the job to be near her boyfriend and, while well-educated and eager to impress, has no concept of the irrationality to which people handle difficult news. It's so enjoyable to see her emotional journey, from hard-nosed go-getter to emotional collapse, then all the better for it. Truly, Reitman's greatest strength is how he employs his actors; many I know chiefly as comedians (Zach Galifianakis, J.K. Simmons, Danny McBride!) performed their straight acting parts quite admirably, and I've heard that many of the fired employees were extras recently let go and asked to improvise their feelings. That anyone could or would sit through that is astounding.

Reitman's father is the great Ivan Reitman, director of Ghostbusters, Stripes and Dave among others. I have no doubt in my mind that he is a very proud parent, as Reitman will likely (and should) win Best Adapted Screenplay for this work, along with another Best Director nomination.