When film becomes obscure despite notable names behind and in front of cameras, that, more often than not, happens for a good reason. This is what happened with Company Man, 2000 period comedy written and directed by Peter Askin and Douglas McGrath.
The plot begins in 1959. McGrath plays the protagonist, English prep school teacher Alan Quimp, man who fantasises about changing his uneventful life for a career of CIA agent, a lie that he starts telling in order to impress family of his demanding wife Daisy (played by Sigourney Weaver). By a set of coincidences Quimp helps young Russian dancer Rudolph Petrov (played by Ryan Phillipe) defect from Soviet Union to West. This catches attention of CIA which decides to recruit him and send him to seemingly undemanding task of watching Cuba, ruled by pro-American dictator Fulgencio Batista (played by Alan Cummings). Things get complicated when the country is taken over by revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro (played by Anthony LaPaglia). Quimp’s attempts to do his job would inadvertently start the chain of events leading to Bay of Pigs invasion.
Peter Askin is best known for biographical documentary Trumbo. Douglas McGrath was also known for documentaries, but he previously had written screenplay for Bullets Over Broadway, period comedy directed by Woody Allen, who briefly appears in Company Man as CIA agent. Their film is unusually short, with only 81 minutes of running time. That should suggest quick, easily digestible comedy that entertains audience with the series of quick gags unburdened with too much exposition or character developments.
First sign that it wouldn’t be the case was in Company Man, originally produced in 1999, being released a year later due to dispute over creative control between authors and producers. When the film was actually shown, it was universally panned by critics, completely ignored by audience and ending in direct-to-video distribution in UK and plenty other markets. To say that such harsh fate was deserved would be an understatement. Company Man is terribly directed, with its 16 million US$ budget somehow being misspent and instead of interesting period reconstruction the audience see what amount to series of cheap skits that would be behind the standards of the least ambitious television productions. The actors, despite all of their talent and charisma, appear to act on their own, not actually trying hard to play historic characters. But the worst thing about Company Man is almost complete absence of humour. While there are some jokes in the film, they are based on historical references that are likely to be incomprehensible to anyone except nostalgic Boomers and even they would find those jokes unfunny. Company Man, even with its short running time, is complete waste of time and it is so easy to imagine that anyone involved in production would probably prefer that this celluloid catastrophe never existed.
RATING: 1/10 (--)
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Jeffrey Jones plays the straight shooting, no nonsense Senator who served in WW2. He wants answers from the head of the CIA about the "Bay of Pigs" incident and is angry about a heavily redacted document that only mentions "Officer Quimp". Jeffrey Jones and Paul Guilfoyle [CIA agent] do a great back and forth that is full of tension and intrigue. The cinematography in this movie is impressive from shot #1.
Officer Quimp is played by Douglas McGrath. He is an obsessive, spaced out and goofy Grammar teacher turned CIA spy. The character is played well and is very comical. [In the above scene, he is overly excited to be in a "secret session"]. Officer Quimp is the classic "my dreams are more important than my real life" character. He is the quintessential oddball/space cadet.
Officer Quimp's wife is played by Sigourney Weaver. She is a delusional, spoiled woman with a rich father. Above, she is complaining about having to be sitting in the "poor section" of the restaurant. There are lots of funny sight gags in this movie. The movie is very visual. Almost on the level of a circus act in some scenes.
Terry Beaver has a very funny cameo as Officer Quimp's father in law. "You need to get your piece of the pie before somebody subdivides it. You have fallen asleep under the back wheel of the Cadillac of life. Get a nine to five, three martini, six figure job like every other man in Connecticut by the end of the month or I will get in my Cadillac and back up over you."
Ryan Phillippe plays a Russian ballet dancer who wishes to defect to the United states. The accent is a bit suspect, but he does a good job playing someone who is in a panic. Officer Quimp helps him escape from his KGB handler and this is how he ends up being recruited by the CIA.
Company Man has one of my favorite Woody Allen roles. The character he plays in this movie is very funny. He plays a flakey, oddball CIA agent who is in charge of the Cuban division. He is in complete denial of the rumours behind the oncoming revolution. "We are going to set up a dummy corporation. You are going to be the head of it. It will be called American fruit, perfect for you."
I found a clip of the "grammer nazi" scene with Officer Quimp and Agent X [Dennis Leary]. It's very funny and shows how clever the writing and acting is in this movie. Of course, the idea that this would really lead to a confession in real life is silly, but there are many suspensions of disbelief in this film.
John Turturro plays another CIA member who is a freedom fighter against Castro. He breaks into Officer Quimp's house to frantically tell him about the coming revolution. This scene is fairly corny and overacted [John Turturro's character cuts his own wrist to prove he is serious about his plan]. This scene isn't very funny.
We are also introduced to the President of Cuba. This character is very odd and doesn't have many lines. I get the feeling that they might be trying to say he is gay? Or at least very lavish and spoiled. It's a confusing character. Not very funny.
Anthony LaPaglia plays Fidel Castro. The movie shows the strange reported assignation attempts. Dosing him on acid, exploding cigars, drops of poison etc.
Overall I would give this movie a 7/10. There are some painfully unfunny scenes, but the cinematography is excellent, it's a great historical critique on several levels, the writing is funny and it has great acting from Woody Allen. The movie in general is an all star cast. If you like a complex, dry humor with lots of moving parts and suspension of disbelief, it's a perfect movie for you.