Like many of the films released during the last four years, “In Good Company” has a strong message about fathers and mentors, and focuses on what it means to be a dad under challenging circumstances.

“Here I am, a guy with two daughters and you’re rooting for him to have a son,” Quaid says.  “He’s certainly surrounded by women and he winds up in the end happily having a daughter, but he’s also gained a son in his relationship with Topher’s character.”

Grace agrees. 

“Carter has got everything on paper,” he says.  “His parents were both absent, but he’s got the right car, the right job, the right life and the right house. But I think that once I go home to Dennis’ character’s house, I start to actually see something that I really want, but I don’t know how to get it. I don’t know if Paul would agree with me on this, but I think that [Carter] is dating Dan’s daughter as a consolation prize, instead of actually being in the family. Like, he would trade it all in just to be the fifth member of the family.”

So there they sit – two opposites, who aren’t really opposite at all – playing conflicting roles, who aren’t nearly as far apart as they might seem.  It’s life mirroring art, in another curious twist, with a message about growing older and wiser, yet still being at the top of your game, no matter what life may bring.

A bit like Quaid, who probably looks at Grace with a mixture of regret and relief.  And like Grace, who would probably give anything for the success that Quaid has enjoyed.  Anything, that is, except the personal holocausts that Quaid has been through.

So, while neither actor even remotely resembles old Ebenezer Scrooge, one can only hope that, as they look at one another, they both see what might have been, as well as what might still be.


Universal Pictures' "In Good Company," starring Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson and Marg Helgenberger, opens in limited release in theaters on Wednesday, December 29, 2004.