The Company Men

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The Company Men

R

2011

1h 55m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

67%

Tomatometer

165 Reviews

56%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

A young executive at a shipping and manufacturing conglomerate, Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) is on the fast track to the top. He is a rising star at work and has all the material trappings of success. Then his company goes through a few rounds of layoffs, so Bobby and colleagues Phil (Chris Cooper) and Gene (Tommy Lee Jones) find themselves on the unemployment line. As the year unfolds, all three must redefine their lives as they struggle to survive in a hostile post-career landscape.

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Critics Consensus

It might be hard for most viewers to identify with The Company Men's well-heeled protagonists, but writer/director John Wells uses their plight to make universally resonant points -- and gets the most out of his excellent cast.

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Caryn James

Newsday

02/07/2018

With harrowing realism, The Company Men captures the raw, personal impact of the economic meltdown.

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Kimber Myers

The Playlist

08/15/2013

C

The Company Men, aka "The Supposed Problems of Unsympathetic Rich People" or "Good Actors Stuck in a Mediocre Movie," tries to be timely, but it's as out of touch as Pat Buchanan.

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Philip French

Guardian

03/14/2011

A serious, schematic, well-acted film about adjusting to new lifestyles in a changing world...

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

08/03/2023

3/4

Wells explores themes relevant to everyone in America. No one will come out of the film without thinking of someone they know who’s been impacted in the same way as the characters onscreen.

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

09/05/2020

2.5/4.0

Ben Affleck performs ably for the second time in a year.

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Ed Travis

Hollywood Jesus

04/02/2020

I would recommend this one. It rang true to me and it gave me some food for thought about the best way to move forward in this economically tough time.

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Demetris A

@RT47166951 Dec 25

The point is that nobody cares if some of the top 0.001% go broke. You know why? It never happens. It’s called insurance, lawyers, political ties, etc. So this a mythological adventure. for the rest of us that hate the rich we get to watch a fantasy movie that will never happen in real life. The truth is that without the rich we would have no jobs. So hating the rich is like hating ourselves….

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Scott E

@RT19581245 Oct 22

Not bad. The loyalty of corporations.

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brian mcfly m

@RT02770297 Aug 14

Disjointed and unsympathetic. Let’s keep the Porsche and the Country Club as long as we can. Did not develop collapse of jones’ characters bad marriage. Somehow the millionaires turned pro-labor. Coooers’ character suicide was telegraphed ahead. Costner must have needed work.

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Clark S

@RT47562395 Jun 28

Let me first start out by saying...I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!! Why would a star studded cast like this do such a crummy movie that is equivalent to diarrhea!!!!!!? Was it the money they needed? Looks like a first years film school student attempt at a movie. If you rent it or buy it, after the movie's over, be prepared to sit on the couch with feeling of utter disappointment!!!!

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Alejandro E

@Alex970 Apr 27

El volátil mundo de los negocios y el complicado arte de sobrellevar el desempleo. Si bien el resultado no marca historia, se agradece que el guion y el reparto le dan un tono que coincide con la realidad.

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Daniel G

@DanielGodoy 03/08/2025

I'd watched this movie closer to 2010, when it was released, but watching it again in 2023 it still felt impactful, although maybe nowadays there would be more of these "company men" looking to open their own business or invest in a franchise - like a very good friend of mine, a company man all his life, unemployed close to age 60, ended up doing after not finding a job. The movie rang quite true and was very watchable and entertaining, which is expected from the leading actors, though looking back on it, it actually was superficial in many of its portrayals.

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John Wells

Director

Ben Affleck

Bobby Walker

Chris Cooper

Phil Woodward

Kevin Costner

Jack Dolan

Tommy Lee Jones

Gene McClary

Maria Bello

Sally Wilcox

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Synopsis

A young executive at a shipping and manufacturing conglomerate, Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) is on the fast track to the top. He is a rising star at work and has all the material trappings of success. Then his company goes through a few rounds of layoffs, so Bobby and colleagues Phil (Chris Cooper) and Gene (Tommy Lee Jones) find themselves on the unemployment line. As the year unfolds, all three must redefine their lives as they struggle to survive in a hostile post-career landscape.

Director: John Wells
Producer: Claire Rudnick Polstein, Paula Weinstein, John Wells
Screenwriter: John Wells
Distributor: Weinstein Co.
Production Co: Battle Mountain Films
Rating: R (Language|Brief Nudity)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 21, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 22, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.4M
Runtime: 1h 55m
Sound Mix: Dolby

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