The Company Men

Play trailer

The Company Men

R

2011

1h 55m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

67%

Tomatometer

165 Reviews

55%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

A young executive at a shipping and manufacturing conglomerate, Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) is on the fast track to the top. He is a rising star at work and has all the material trappings of success. Then his company goes through a few rounds of layoffs, so Bobby and colleagues Phil (Chris Cooper) and Gene (Tommy Lee Jones) find themselves on the unemployment line. As the year unfolds, all three must redefine their lives as they struggle to survive in a hostile post-career landscape.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

It might be hard for most viewers to identify with The Company Men's well-heeled protagonists, but writer/director John Wells uses their plight to make universally resonant points -- and gets the most out of his excellent cast.

Read Critics Reviews

Caryn James

Newsday

With harrowing realism, The Company Men captures the raw, personal impact of the economic meltdown.

Feb 7, 2018

Full Review

Kimber Myers

The Playlist

The Company Men, aka "The Supposed Problems of Unsympathetic Rich People" or "Good Actors Stuck in a Mediocre Movie," tries to be timely, but it's as out of touch as Pat Buchanan.

Rated: C

Aug 15, 2013

Full Review

Philip French

Guardian

A serious, schematic, well-acted film about adjusting to new lifestyles in a changing world...

Mar 14, 2011

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Wells explores themes relevant to everyone in America. No one will come out of the film without thinking of someone they know who’s been impacted in the same way as the characters onscreen.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 3, 2023

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Ben Affleck performs ably for the second time in a year.

Rated: 2.5/4.0

Sep 5, 2020

Full Review

Ed Travis

Hollywood Jesus

I would recommend this one. It rang true to me and it gave me some food for thought about the best way to move forward in this economically tough time.

Apr 2, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

Scott E

Not bad. The loyalty of corporations.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/22/25

Full Review

brian mcfly m

Disjointed and unsympathetic. Let’s keep the Porsche and the Country Club as long as we can. Did not develop collapse of jones’ characters bad marriage. Somehow the millionaires turned pro-labor. Coooers’ character suicide was telegraphed ahead. Costner must have needed work.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/14/25

Full Review

Clark S

Let me first start out by saying...I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!! Why would a star studded cast like this do such a crummy movie that is equivalent to diarrhea!!!!!!? Was it the money they needed? Looks like a first years film school student attempt at a movie. If you rent it or buy it, after the movie's over, be prepared to sit on the couch with feeling of utter disappointment!!!!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/28/25

Full Review

Alejandro E

El volátil mundo de los negocios y el complicado arte de sobrellevar el desempleo. Si bien el resultado no marca historia, se agradece que el guion y el reparto le dan un tono que coincide con la realidad.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/27/25

Full Review

Daniel G

I'd watched this movie closer to 2010, when it was released, but watching it again in 2023 it still felt impactful, although maybe nowadays there would be more of these "company men" looking to open their own business or invest in a franchise - like a very good friend of mine, a company man all his life, unemployed close to age 60, ended up doing after not finding a job. The movie rang quite true and was very watchable and entertaining, which is expected from the leading actors, though looking back on it, it actually was superficial in many of its portrayals.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/08/25

Full Review

David H

This is an excellent movie tells a true story.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/04/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

John Wells

Director

Ben Affleck

Bobby Walker

Chris Cooper

Phil Woodward

Kevin Costner

Jack Dolan

Tommy Lee Jones

Gene McClary

Maria Bello

Sally Wilcox

Answers to Nothing

9%

36%

Answers to Nothing

Watchlist

August

36%

23%

August

Watchlist

We Need to Talk About Kevin

74%

78%

We Need to Talk About Kevin

Watchlist

Beautiful Boy

71%

56%

Beautiful Boy

Watchlist

The Merry Gentleman

65%

51%

The Merry Gentleman

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

A young executive at a shipping and manufacturing conglomerate, Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) is on the fast track to the top. He is a rising star at work and has all the material trappings of success. Then his company goes through a few rounds of layoffs, so Bobby and colleagues Phil (Chris Cooper) and Gene (Tommy Lee Jones) find themselves on the unemployment line. As the year unfolds, all three must redefine their lives as they struggle to survive in a hostile post-career landscape.

Director: John Wells
Producer: Claire Rudnick Polstein, Paula Weinstein, John Wells
Screenwriter: John Wells
Distributor: Weinstein Co.
Production Co: Battle Mountain Films
Rating: R (Language|Brief Nudity)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 21, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 22, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.4M
Runtime: 1h 55m
Sound Mix: Dolby

Most Popular at Home Now