Jason Reitman is very clever. This quality has been amply demonstrated in both of his films "Thank You for Smoking" and "Up in the Air". Yet there is something in both films that I find vaguely disturbing. A large part, but perhaps not the central theme, of "Up in the Air" has to do with firing workers. We are supposed to see the bullshitting professional corporate hitman (someone who fires workers for a living) as a pathetic, lovable, and humanistic character, personified by George Clooney.
Granted, when the movie was written and made, the Great Recession started but was not yet in full swing. Nevertheless, the "feel-good" and warm-and-fuzzy tone of the movie seems superficial and disingenuous, even a bit malicious, because he never fully acknowledges the emotional devastation of firing people and being fired. There is something wrong with all this. In fact, when it was announced, near the end, that a person previously fired by the main character committed suicide, the way Reitman handled it was almost flippant.
Perhaps it is a total non-issue for other viewers who are not as sensitive as I, but the movie leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
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