Mergers & Acquisitions

It's too bad the phrase "great little film" carries connotations of a backhand compliment, because without such connotations it describes "Mergers and Acquisitions" pretty well. This highly personal, unpretentiously intelligent film dramatizes the types of questions, trends, decisions, and ethical dilemmas that can suddenly pop into anyone's life these days (what sort of community do I consider livable? whose work do I want to support? what kind of work is really worth my time? where's the line between protecting my interests and being able to look myself in the mirror?). Almost everything about the contemporary American economy seems structured to distract people from taking these questions seriously -- but after seeing how Del and several other well-drawn characters respond when a corporate reorganization forces those questions on them, you just might ask a few hard questions about your own world. "M&A" isn't didactic or tiresome about this, just respectful of your intelligence. And it'll definitely hover in the back of your mind the next time you decide where to grab a cup of coffee.

Is it entertaining? Sure, as long as you don't expect everyone and everything in a film to be larger than life. These characters are as large as life, which is... well, large, right? Joe Bob Briggs wouldn't say "check it out," but I bet Barbara Ehrenreich would. Recommended for audiences who understand that "mature" means something more than whether someone's capable of handling nudity.