The DVD

Video:
In Good Company is presented in an anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen transfer that shines in just about every way possible. The film itself isn't all that visually dramatic, but the highlights are certainly captured in this visual presentation. The film's visual motif of the extreme close-up is portrayed beautifully by this transfer's intricate detail. Shadow, lighting, and depth are well delineated and even the exterior shots of New York City come across beautifully. While there are not a lot of vibrant colors throughout the film, the few times that they do appear bright and rich. Fleshtones are accurate, and blacks are deep. The only issues with this transfer are a bit of grain and spots from time to time and a few instances of slight edge enhancement. Overall, however, this is a stunning visual presentation of a film that's not entirely visually stunning.

Sound:
The audio on this disc is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 format that handles the balance of dialogue and soundtrack very well. In Good Company is a somewhat dialogue-heavy film, and this track always allows the dialogue to be the main attraction. It is always clear, crisp, and distinct, and never becomes overwhelmed by the rest of the soundtrack. Spatial separation is very nice across the front channels and, although you won't hear a lot of surround effects throughout the film, the surround channels do a great job of providing the soundtrack with a bit more power and ambience. The soundtrack itself plays a very important role in the film, and the score and songs come across beautifully balanced on this track. For a film that doesn't exactly have an incredibly dynamic soundtrack, this is a wonderful audio presentation.

Extras:
The first, and best, extra feature on this disc is an audio commentary with Writer/Director Paul Weitz and Actor Topher Grace. The two obviously became very friendly while working on the film, and their relationship certainly shows on this track. Their chat is breezy and conversational, which makes for a very entertaining listen. They talk specifically about many scenes in the film and explain some of the film's influences, but also take the time to tell plenty of fun anecdotes from the set. Weitz and Grace do a little bit of congratulatory back patting, but this track is, for the most part, highly entertaining, funny, and informative.

Also included on this disc is an approximately 23-minute featurette called "Synergy," which can be viewed all at once or as seven separate segments ("Stars," "Youth," "Getting Older," "Real Life," "New York Locations," "Editing," and "Story"). These short features are your basic behind-the-scenes clips, but these are slightly more interesting. There are fewer clips from the film, more interviews and behind-the-scenes moments, and some intriguing commentary from people outside of the film world. The best segment is "Story," as it tells about the impetus of the film and the actors' takes on the power of the story itself. Each segment, however, is unique in its own way. "Real Life," for instance, features interviews with people in real corporate jobs, and "New York Locations" follows Paul Weitz around the city as he gets some of his exterior shots. Played as a whole, the featurette proves to be much more than your typical EPK fare.

There are also ten deleted scenes with optional commentary from Writer/Director Paul Weitz. The scenes run about 16 minutes long and include some very funny moments that simply didn't fit into the film. Since the original cut of In Good Company was nearly 3 hours, there are quite a few scenes here that could have easily worked in the film. Weitz does a nice job of explaining why each scene was cut, and even why he would have liked to keep it in the film if it were possible time-wise. This is a good collection of scenes that make for a nice addition to the film itself.

Finally, we have text biographies and filmographies for Dennis Quaid, Scarlett Johansson, Topher Grace, Marg Helgenberger, David Paymer, Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz, Rodney Liber, and Andrew Miano.

Final Thoughts:
Do yourself a favor. Whatever you might be thinking about In Good Company from seeing the trailer or reading the basic description of the storyline, throw it out the window. The film itself is much more nuanced and wide-ranging than anything you could have seen in that 2-minute preview. Paul Weitz not only gives us romance, drama, comedy, and commentary about corporate downsizing, but he does it skillfully enough to combine the elements into something that actually resembles real life - not something we usually get to see in Hollywood movies. In Good Company is a much better film than its trailer wants you to believe. It's much more heartfelt and lasting, and its certainly much more than your typical cookie-cutter romantic comedy. In addition, Universal has provided a very nice audio-visual presentation and some excellent extra goodies. All of which adds up to a disc comes highly recommended. I urge anyone that might be reluctant to sit down and watch In Good Company to give it a shot. You might just be surprised to see that it's not at all what you expected.