Ryan is the protagonist we follow in UP IN THE AIR, the latest dramedy from producer, director and co-writer Jason Reitman.  Reitman wrote the role expressly for George Clooney, and only Clooney could pull this one off.  Clooney has never been better, and Reitman’s words shimmer with truth through Clooney-as-Bingham’s lips.

Things are only looking up for Ryan.  He meets a beautiful woman named Alex (Vera Farmiga) who shares his travel-as-life philosophy and who is happy with a casual relationship consisting of passionate rendezvous in airport hotels.  The turbulent economy means that he’s got plenty of work on his calendar.  And he’s approaching a personal goal that will make him one of the most elite travelers in the world.  He’s very close to amassing ten million frequent-flyer miles with American Airlines, a feat that only six others have managed to achieve. 

Enter one Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), an MBA whiz from Cornell with a minor in psychology.  She develops a plan to handle firings via teleconference, saving Bingham’s employer untold travel expenses for its team of 25 traveling ax-men.  Bingham, horrified at the idea of being grounded, argues that Miss Keener doesn’t understand that you can’t fire people remotely; you must give them the dignity of a face-to-face meeting.  Bingham’s boss (Jason Bateman) gives Bingham an assignment:  he must take Keener with him on his travels, to teach her about what he does so well. 

As Keener learns about traveling without luggage, Bingham is learning about the baggage of life, and the puns are intentional.  She begins to see that the carefully planned  life she aspires to is simply a disaster waiting to happen; he begins to see that what he embraces as unencumbrance is loneliness.  The chemistry between the pair is intense, yet not sexual.  Keener is full of book knowledge, but no street wisdom.  She thanks Alex, a mere 10 years her senior, for what her “generation” did for feminism.  Her approach to any situation is through action lists and workflow charts.  Bingham, on the other hand, is all charm and finesse; completely comfortable anywhere but his austere apartment that looks remarkably like a hotel room.  They play off each other like sparks across a generation gap.

UP IN THE AIR is clever, witty, charming, sad, bleak and funny—as is life.  It serves as a mirror of our time, and a metaphor as well.  It’s one of the first films to deal with the current economy head on, and it does so with brilliance.  Instead of casting actors as the dozens of people Bingham must fire, Reitman used a ruse to interview 200 recently laid-off workers in St. Louis.  Two dozen of these interviewees recreated their reactions to being fired for the film.  It’s effective and heartbreaking.  Watch for J.K. Simmons in a brief but excellent turn as “Bob,” who falls under Bingham’s carefully-scripted spell and moves from despair to anger to hope in a few short minutes.  Another quick performance bears noting here:  the veteran silk-voiced Sam Elliott as veteran pilot Maynard Finch.

The marvel of this film is in the writing.  Jason Reitman brings his characters to life with authenticity.  The flirty banter between Bingham and Alex as they compare airline and hotel perk cards, the thinly-veiled sarcasm as Alex responds to Keener’s list of requirements for a good husband, the exhausted annoyance of Bingham’s sister Kara (Amy Morton) as she begs her brother to become involved in a family wedding are all familiar and true.  The primary actors all take a step past their lines and add subtleties that make them almost—but not quite-- likeable.  Clooney’s crestfallen expression as he watches a stranger walk his youngest sister down the aisle is simply priceless.  Expect an Oscar nod for adapted screenplay for Reitman and his co-writer Sheldon Turner, and Kendrick and Clooney as well.

Reitman is known for using quirky music to offset his films.  Unfortunately, this approach falls short in UP IN THE AIR.  Although the music is good, it seems out of place.  A song that plays over a charming wedding scene is completely unnecessary and distracting.  The direction is straightforward, although a couple of shaky hand-held camera scenes break otherwise even pacing.