Up in the Air, which stars George Clooney as a man who loves his isolated lifestyle flying around America firing people, has been getting almost universal critical acclaim. Immediately following a media screening earlier this week, one man observed, "It's a good movie, it's not a great movie." We usually hate the pedantic jaded chatter that bubbles out of a press screening, but this guy was pretty right. Up in the Air is not a great movie, but it doesn't try to be; it is merely a very good movie that succeeds in meeting its own modest parameters. It's also very funny.

We'd follow Clooney into hell (we even saw Leatherheads), and this is a perfect role for him: a charming, worldly player who knows all the tricks for getting through airport security in record time. He loves the suspended non-reality of airports and traveling, but he finds his way of life suddenly threatened when his companyâwhich is hired by other companies to personally liquidate their staffsâdecides to bring him back home (to Omaha) and fire people via teleconferencing. To stay up in the air, where he's found romance with fellow frequent flier Vera Farmiga, he's got to convince his boss (Jason Bateman) and his pert protege (Anna Kendrick) that there's something just a tad callous about firing remotely.

Nestled among the smart comedy and nuanced observations about traveling are some priceless reactions from workers as they're informed of their termination. (These include some choice cameos by actors such as Zach Galifianakis and J.K. Simmons, as well as some affecting performances by recently fired workers in St. Louis and Detroit.) The firing scenes are treated with just the right touch of humor and empathy, and Up in the Air is nothing if not timely. Thank you, Hollywood, for releasing a solid picture with grown-ups as your target audience.

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