Company Business

Some people see this movie as tripe. I on the other hand enjoyed the heck out of it. Hackman is always good, Mikhail did a good job for a ballet dancer. The supporting cast was excellent. There wasn't a foul four letter word in every other sentence, which was a delight in itself. I enjoyed the plot, counterplot and just got caught up in the whole thing. Sure there are some holes in the story but have you seen the garbage that passes for 'critical acclaim' on television nightly? See it yourself, make up your own mind.

Sometimes you rent something that you think will be bad just for the sheer campiness of it. That's what I thought I'd done with Company Business as I'd been browsing through the Blockbuster and couldn't remember the film at all, despite being a Baryshnikov fan. I figured what the heck and rented it anyway. I was quite surprised to find myself really enjoying this film even though you sometimes have to really work at suspending your disbelief. I'm still trying to figure out how exactly Baryshnikov could have been successful as a mole with his accent.

This film has two things really working for it though -- the dialogue and the stars. The dialogue is wonderful. Throughout the movie there are great one line bits that leave you chuckling. Mind you, most of those lines wouldn't have worked if Hackman and Baryshnikov hadn't had such great chemistry. You really don't watch this film for the plot, but for the interaction between these two. It certainly wasn't a pairing I expected, but it worked.

With all that said, my one complaint about the movie has nothing to do with whether or not it was a believable plot, but where it left off. I wanted more resolution. My husband agrees. We got to the end of the film and he looked at me and said "That's it? It was just getting good." It leaves too many things up in the air.

All in all, I would say if you are expecting a spy movie, don't bother. If, on the other hand, you want a fun little buddy movie, rent it and enjoy.

Gene Hackman is Sam Boyd, an old CIA agent who is dragged back into "Company Business" in this 1991 film also starring Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Boyd has to funnel money to the Russians using a prisoner switch as an excuse, but it all goes awry when, during the exchange, he realizes the prisoner the Russians are sending over is someone he just saw at the airport. He aborts the switch immediately.

He and his Russian (Baryshnikov) are directed to a safe house, but when it blows up, Hackman realizes the CIA wants both of them dead. So they go on the run with $2 million.

This film had a light, breezy atmosphere to it, and the two stars play it sort of like an "I Spy" episode. It's not an out and out comedy but it's pleasant and implausible enough.

Someone thought that the "big reveal" about the young woman helping the two in France made the thing truly ridiculous - I don't know why. Baryshnikov at the time of the filming was 43, and the young woman (Geraldine Danon) was 23. What's the problem?

Great locations in Berlin and France, good acting, and some exciting scenes. Fun if you're not expecting "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold."

Rewatching this in 2020 (last viewing was probably mid-90s!) I must say I enjoyed this mild mannered "spy games" light comic thriller. Showing its age now with references to Princess Diana and protagonists smoking on an aeroplane. Has shades of better movies like MIDNIGHT RUN and 48 HOURS but with its own unique charm. I like the twisty turny espionage plot (like an early dry run of Jason Bourne films) and the Michael Kamen score sounds very DIE HARD esque, which adds to some of the more tense scenes (especially the spy trade gone wrong scene about halfway through the film). Lots of good strong supporting actors chewing scenery, and I'll watch Hackman in anything! Some of the dialogue makes me laugh too ("He's so rich he could ski uphill"), and I thought the cinematography was good on my modern 60 inch television. It also serves as a great travelogue of Berlin and Paris. Loses a few points for a totally abrupt ending, almost like they ran out of budget! I would have loved another 10-15 minutes to see how the characters ended up, and if they made it to the Seychelles.

Pretty good spy movie more realistic than many other spy flicks. Plausible story with dozens of typical Hollywood digs at America, American institutions in and out of the government and American allies- mostly overt digs but some covert ones too. If you ignore them, or more likely don't even notice them, this is a very watchable bit of entertainment. Good cinematography, sometimes reminiscent of Hitchcock, and action keeps you interested in the story. Hackman and Baryshnikov work and play well together.