MovieChat Forums > Up in the Air (2009) Discussion > Was Anna Kendrick's idea really that muc...

Was Anna Kendrick's idea really that much of a breakthrough?

posted 5 years ago by redban (5159)
4 replies | jump to latest

For me, the viewer, it felt like a DUH! sort of idea. All these people on the road so many days of the year, costing the company a ton of money in the annual budget. Why not try to make the job electronic?

The job had been around for a while, based on Clooney's age. In all that time, nobody in the HR department, nobody in IT, nobody in the billing department etc thought about saving money by firing people digitally?

Basically, the movie made it seem like Anna Kendrick's character made some sort of genius proposal, demonstrating her brilliance. But in real life, it would have been a no-brainer.

[–] Trev (850) 3 years ago

Welp, in the end they decided to ditch that all together and send them flying all around the world again, so I guess going digital was a crappy idea after all? I'm not even sure what to think after watching this.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Not sure about that, but I do know that Kendrick almost ruined the entire film, she was TERRIBLE! That scene where she is “crying”, oh my God, like something you’d expect to see in a high school play, except less convincing.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

What are you talking about? She was terrific and very believable as a young goal getter.

[–] buzzlightbeer (1812) 2 years ago

I think for the proper context you have to consider the time when the film came out, plus the fact that it was based on a book that came out even further back than that. So, the time frame of the book would've been probably 2000-2005 so, in that context, yes i think it would've been considered a real breakthrough idea. remember, we didn't even have streaming video until after 2005 (gen) so for that day this would have been revolutionary.

but oddly, when i think of this movie it sticks in my mind as if it's in the 2013-15 period, i don't know why. but it was actually in 2009 (i saw it in the theater). just doesn't seem that far back to me. just a personal observation. idiosyncratic, to me, probably. lol