A Family Man

The story line was very predictable and the acting was just about watchable. People living the dog eat dog world of money and consumerism who plan or have a family should watch this.This move is a must watch for the content not the music or acting. Gerard Butler aka "The Headhunter" performance deserves 5/10 for confirming the greed of the headhunting business.

Writer Bill Dubuque and Director Mark Williams have created a tender, sensitive family story that is well developed and addresses many of the issues we all face. A brilliant cast delivers the goods with style and empathy - and Chicago has never been so beautifully captured photographically as cinematographer Shelly Johnson has accomplished. The musical score is by the always-reliable Mark Isham.

As the boss (Willem Dafoe) of a Chicago-based headhunter, Dane Jensen (Gerard Butler), who works at the Blackridge Recruiting agency arranging jobs for engineers, prepares to retire, Jensen vies to achieve his longtime goal of taking over the company going head-to-head with his ambitious rival, Lynn Vogel (Alison Brie). Factors intervene: Dane's close friend Lou (Alfred Molina) is unemployed and desperate for work, Dane's wife Elise (Gretchen Mol) is concerned Dane is not spending time with his family, and Dane's 10-year-old son, Ryan (Max Jenkins), is suddenly diagnosed with Acute Lymphatic Leukemia by the doctor Singh (Anupam Kher) and his professional priorities at work and personal priorities at home begin to clash with one another. Dane spends quality time with Ryan by touring the beautiful architectural wonders of Chicago and Ryan's wise observations set Dane on a new path. Dane finds a job for Lou (at Dane's expense of giving up a headhunter's fee for a friend), and Dane and Elise grow closer. Dane is pulled between achieving his professional dream and supporting his wife and son, who need him now more than ever.

Much of the success of the film is attributable to the fine performance by Gerard Butler, but he is enhanced by the performances of the entire cast. A very 'feel good' movie, perfect to restore faith in humankind just when we need it the most.

This film tells the story of a successful headhunter, who puts his career first and family second. The unexpected illness of his son makes him re-evaluate his priorities and decisions in his life.

I find this film unexpectedly good. Both Gerard Butler and Gretchen Mol are very good in their roles as heartbroken parents. In addition, Gerard Butler delivers the intensity of a ruthless career man who is charismatic on the outside, but not as beautiful in the inside. The plot is captivating and touching. I really enjoyed watching it.

People are not entirely good or entirely bad, this is a model movie that portrays a man doing the right thing in the wrong way. On one hand he is trying to provide for his family and climb up the ranks but on the other hand he does morally wrong things and neglects his family in the process. He is a man we can relate to and in this movie we become invested in him neither hating him nor loving him but sympathizing with him.

Something unexpected happens and our investment becomes even heightened, we cry, laugh and cry all over again. You see happiness, sadness and pure life in this movie - well acted. It is also nice to see marriage portrayed in all it's ups and downs without adding too much drama other than that of unexpected life.

I loved this movie and would recommend it!

Ah, the new movie starring Gerard Butler, the poor man's Clive Owen, always up for some good all-American entertainment that makes you think but also makes you smile. This one's about a headhunter whose life revolves around closing deals in survival-of-the-fittest boiler room. He battles his top rival for control of the company, but then his oldest child falls seriously ill. Also starring, Gretchen Mol as the loving but ever-suffering wife, Willem Dafoe as the ruthless boss, Alison Brie as the rival and Alfred Molina as the token solid supporting male character. First and foremost, „A Family Man" is a genre movie, which means it's produced and put together of clichés in hope of finding a suitable mainstream audience. The approach is pretty solid one, using several drama subgenres in order to appeal to wider circle of cinema-goers, including sick child story, a middle class American success story, finding yourself again story and some „Wall Street" type high-octane competence porn. The execution is actually pretty solid too. The able cast are doing their darndest best to act through all the material, and there's a lot of it. 108 minute movie may feel quite a bit longer, at least for those who have seen way too many movies to take all these clichés and workmanlike storytelling seriously. On the other hand, those who still watch movies as just a nice way of passing time, or aren't tired of bland dramas made of middle- class dreams and aspirations, can definitely find some entertainment here. They don't even have to think how to feel because the movie manipulates you in all the right directions at the right time. I am taking a wild guess that "A Family Man" is most suitable for girlish audience, but it will also surely feel in the right place when it's 2 am and you're desperately trying to find something new to watch with Butler starring in it. He's a doing a fine job too, the whole result relies on his manly charm and grunting. All in all, there's nothing wrong with „A Family Man". It's just there's nothing terribly exciting either, with the creative bar set relatively low and all. I hope I didn't sound too ironic here or something, I quite liked the movie for what it is.