"Up in the Air" is a movie you must force yourself to stick with, as although many of the characters are difficult to like it's still very well worth seeing. Much of this is because of the clever script, much of it is because of the nice acting but most of it is because the film avoids all the typical clichés you see in movies. In fact, this is one of the best films of 2009--and far better than some of the other Oscar nominees. Perhaps not as good as "Precious" or "Hurt Locker" but a wonderful film.

George Clooney stars as a strange and rather antisocial man. No, this does not mean he commits crimes or he hits people--he's just convinced that it's better to have no connections in life...none. He is thrilled that his job keeps him on the road 320+ days a year and has worked very hard to avoid closeness or ties. And, at first I hated this sort of thing as the film seemed to be saying this was a good thing. However, through the course of the film you see a few minor chinks in Clooney's armor. Perhaps it isn't quite as perfect as he says it is--even if he does give seminars on the joys of non-connectedness when he isn't doing his regular job--which is traveling the country and firing people for various clients--a great job for such a guy.

There is MUCH more to the film than this and two important women that come into Clooney's life. But the best part of it is NEVER does the film give in to sentiment and clichés--Clooney does NOT discover any magic and the film does not end of a typical Hollywood note. It's daring and you may not like the fact it is not a 'happily ever after' film--but I loved that it was deliberately vague and left so much to the viewer to make of the movie. Clever and well worth seeing...HOWEVER, be careful. It's not a movie to watch if you are unemployed or have just come out of a relationship--it might just churn up too many personal issues. Great...just be careful.

By the way, there was one thing I did not love about the film. The soundtrack was filled with too much LOUD indie wuss music and it was, at times, too pervasive and invasive.

Seeing the character that George Clooney plays in Up In The Air reminds me of George Peppard in The Carpetbaggers. If you remember Jonas Cord was flying all over creation in his private plane developing and supervising his many enterprises. Just like Clooney here, Peppard had some deep seated issues about settling down even though unlike Clooney he was already married.

Clooney has an interesting job that really keeps him moving. He works for a firm that specializes in aiding fired workers make a transition. I can testify myself that getting fired can be traumatic. In my case though my firing lasted two months and I went back to my old job and stayed there until retirement.

Clooney's boss Jason Bateman has him going all over the country. He says that he spent only about 43 days in his sparse apartment in Omaha. It really is sparse the various hotel rooms look more homey. But a woman who also spends a lot of time traveling on her job Vera Famiga and a woman who is being trained by Clooney, Anna Kendrick help him see that maybe his life and lack of commitment isn't the best thing for him.

Nor is his stated goal of gaining 10 million frequent flier miles. He spends so much time in the air that all the airline personnel on all the airlines know him on a first name basis. That's one significant accomplishment. Maybe Clooney should have taken up with a stewardess.

The characters are drawn well in this script which got one of several Academy Award nominations, in this case for adapted screenplay. Up In The Air also got Academy recognition for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Clooney, Best Actress for Famigia, and Best Supporting Actress for Kendrick. I thought Kendrick was especially good as the young lady who sees a career treadmill she doesn't like and gets off.

Up In The Air is an intelligent and modern comedy with some characters I think we can all identify with.

Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a professional hatchet man who fires people as a job. He is an expert flyer who gives lectures about how to pack for travel. He's good at his job and his most joyful goal is to attain ten million frequent flyer miles. He meets his perfect flying partner Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga) at an airport bar. He deliberately avoids a personal life and his spartan apartment. His sister wants him to photograph a cutout of his niece and her fiancée at different places for their upcoming wedding. Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) is a new hire with a new way to fire people by telecommunication. Bingham is dismayed at the proposal. His boss Craig Gregory (Jason Bateman) forces him to show Keener the ropes.

Clooney and Farmiga have a fun cerebral chemistry. They flirt well together. It's too bad that they can't be on screen more often. Kendrick is great at playing the uptight cute girl. She has a good fun mentor relationship with Clooney. It has some funny moments. The best is when the three leads finally get together. Kendrick in that scene is hilarious. Jason Reitman deftly handles these three characters beautifully. I'm not as enamored with the wedding section. It comes after Kendrick having such great scenes and then she's gone. Farmiga is back but the wedding takes too much attention away from her. The movie reaches a high point with the three leads coming together. I think the movie should have kept up that pace and the wedding took some of the steam out.