Corporate Affairs (2007)

Whether you work in a blue collar or white collar job there are two strata to the workforce, workers and management. With computers such a vital part of any company the Information technology or IT has it is lovingly known, is a world unto itself. There has been many ways to depict this department in comics, film and television. Perhaps the most representative is ‘Dilbert’ in the comics and ‘Office Space’ for film. This has set the bar pretty high for newer endeavors. One such recent try for this topic is ‘Corporate Affiars’ by Dan Cohen. This film will be more appealing to people who are actually working in an IT area for a mid to large size corporation. Basically the foundation of the plot is to be careful of what you wish for. Most people see a promotion to management as a great career move and opportunity. In many IT areas this will move you from doing work that is quantifiable and satisfying to a life of pushing papers, corporate memos, regulations and other more esoteric functions. It is the old Peter Principle of doing a good job so you keep getting promoted until you finally reach a job that you can’t perform and are ill fitted to hold. This movie tries to take this plight in a new direction but ultimately falls short of its goal. There are some humorous moments to be sure but overall the flick is not able to reach the anywhere near the successful members of this genre.

Dan Cohen has a little experience as both script writer and director. He not only served in both capacities with his two previous films he also worked as the executive producer. One of these films was a comedy, ‘The Whole Truth’ while the other dealt with advancement in the corporate world, ‘Diamond Men’. It would seem like a natural fit for Cohen to combine the two successfully. Unfortunately this time the attempt to merge the two prior flicks falls short of expectations. The script tries too hard to cover different aspects of the story. It seems undecided whether it wanted to be a satire of corporate life, a sex romp comedy or a look at how success rips a man away from the core values of his life. Any one of those directions could have been into reasonably good movie. Attempting to insert aspects of all of them dilutes the focus and impact of the film. It also results in not allowing the characters to develop organically. As it is most of the characters are little more than cardboard cut outs without any emotional connection possible with the audience. As a director Cohen fairs a bit better. He personalizes the film by having the protagonist narrate. This does increase the one character’s story arc but it is at the expense of the other characters in the movie. The pacing of the film varies from moving rather rapidly in the first act but bogging down in the second. By the final act the story has covered the same material over and over stalling. This has the effect to minimize the resolution. There is a modicum of a moral contained here; success can lead to ruination. The main character is in way over his head and makes every bad choice imaginable. If the film stay on track as a comedy and concentrated on the perils of a sudden change in responsibilities the flick would have lost the ancillary plot lines but have much more concise in execution. Some of the sexual scenes are puerile and obviously included just to get an ‘R’ rating and increase its appeal to the late teen male market. Cohen shows potential but needs to focus more on one well crafted film instead of trying to be all things to all people.

The flick starts with the voice of Ted (Breckin Meyer) describing the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania as run down but not the worse place to live. Ted provides a brief review of his life including how he went to community college majoring in computer science, the one thing he was good at. In his senior year he met Cassie (Laura Harris), a nursing student. As things often goes they started dating, fell in love and got married. They both got jobs and moved to the suburbs, Middletown to be exact. They move into a nice little house and are raising two young daughters. Ted is overworked as a computer programmer but is good at what he does and enjoys it. He is so good at programming that he comes to the attention of management, particularly his immediate boss, Jack (Adam Scott), as their ‘go to’ technical guy. With a solid job, a loving wife and great kids it seemed that Ted had everything a man could possibly want. The president and founder of the company Ted works for is George Parker (George Coe). His third wife, Emily (Bess Armstrong) is friendly with Cassie. In the company there is a caste system. Ted belongs to the techies called ‘eraserheads’. Above them are the management types, the ‘dollar signs’. The two groups are mutually exclusive and might as well speak different languages. The clients are shown here as mysterious figures all in white masks. It is not necessary for the eraserheads to understand them or even know them that is part of the job of the dollar signs. Some clients are believed to be in the government and are show with black hoods over their heads and computer screens; their work is highly confidential.

One day George and Jack pull Ted to the side. They tell him that he has done such a great job he is getting a huge promotion to project manager. An eraserhead will not transcend the barriers and become a dollar sign. While this may seem like a good idea the very qualities that made Ted so good at his job are the very reasons that he will be in over his head now. He is a techie not a client contact person. Almost immediately Ted finds it difficult to make the transition. What is appealing is the much larger salary. The changes begin slowly enough. First Jack informs Ted that now that he is management he really shouldn’t socialize with the techies. His first time socializing with the dollar signs is at a birthday celebration for one of the other young managers. Ted is surprised to discover that it is being held in a very upscale brothel. The men gather around upstairs to watch as two blindfolded, topless women make out on the bed. He obviously can’t tell Cassie about some of the aspects of his new position at work. This is only the start of the moral decay that Ted will undergo in this tale. Client contact includes dealing with hookers as much as it does knowing the product line.

Cohen tries to exonerate Ted to some degree. There is a scene where a call girl comes to his hotel room by mistake. They start talking and she notices he is stressed so she offers to give him a massage. One thing leads to another and they have sex. Come on now. Any man away from home who lets a hooker give him a massage knows what is going happen. At that point any hope of playing Ted for sympathy has left the building. It is jut too easy for him to give up is family, moral compass and every other aspect of his personality. This took away the stress that would have made for a comedy as well as any chance of ridiculing the caste system of corporate America. What is left is something that isn’t even raunchy enough for Cinemax at night.

The film comes to DVD through Anchor Bay. They specialize in little low budget Indies and included this one in their catalog. Since Anchor Bay highlights young, new directors there are bond to be hits and misses. This one is unfortunately a miss. It is not the fault of the cast. Most are established actors with a great track record. Bess Armstrong is talented and always fun to watch. Anyone who was a fan of ‘Dead Like Me’ will recognize Laura Harris. She gives one of the better performances here. This is not a strong film and hopefully Mr. Cohen will grow from the experience and reach his potential.

Posted 03/16/08