No, no, no! I'm not buying Gerard Butler as an American, or as a Recruiter. He overacted in this one, and his attempt at sounding American was silly. Just let him be an Australian.
I'm bored with the over-the-top "alpha" sales guy routine in movies. It's such a cliché. At least have someone do it with nuance. Meanwhile I also didn't buy a marriage between the Butler character and Gretchen Mol's wife.
The makers touched all the bases. They used a Sikh Indian doctor to dispense Eastern wisdom, a young African American male nurse to share empathy, and a wise, precocious boy to root for. But like most Hollywood movies, they didn't want to have any Western religion or wisdom taint the story.
Butler's lead character and Willem Dafoe's supporting character as boss were cartoonish. There was some decent dialog, including some from the wife character about parenting and the need to be there for your family.
Overall, they made an earnest attempt to highlight the "What goes around comes around" philosophy, and the "Pay it forward" concept. I'll give them credit or wanting to encourage a decent value.
But I hope they weren't suggesting that all successful people cut corners and live amoral work lives. I suppose not, because a female competitor at Butler's office seems to have succeeded while being relatively honest.
Well, the acting was poor, the plot telegraphed, the message cliched, but it could have been worse.
The makers touched all the bases. They used a Sikh Indian doctor to dispense Eastern wisdom, a young African American male nurse to share empathy, and a wise, precocious boy to root for. But like most Hollywood movies, they didn't want to have any Western religion or wisdom taint the story.
Butler's lead character and Willem Dafoe's supporting character as boss were cartoonish. There was some decent dialog, including some from the wife character about parenting and the need to be there for your family.
Overall, they made an earnest attempt to highlight the "What goes around comes around" philosophy, and the "Pay it forward" concept. I'll give them credit or wanting to encourage a decent value.
But I hope they weren't suggesting that all successful people cut corners and live amoral work lives. I suppose not, because a female competitor at Butler's office seems to have succeeded while being relatively honest.
Well, the acting was poor, the plot telegraphed, the message cliched, but it could have been worse.