You know that old saw…if you aren’t really that experienced in something (or, heck, even if you are), don’t take on every battle that comes your way. Save it. Savor it. Try your hand when the moment is right. Well, I think the same thing applies in Hollywood. Don’t take every piece of schlock that comes down the Walk of Fame.

Pick the moment.

Some actors are gifted. They intuitively know how to do that. Maybe they aren’t always wild-and-crazy successful with each hand-selected piece, but they get the job done really, really well every now and then.

They can pick their spots.

And so it is with George Clooney in Up in the Air, the latest from director Jason Reitman. Clearly Clooney has come to a point in his career where he can pick his roles, and here, he’s plucked a star from constellation avenue.

No, Clooney’s not the whole movie. Not by a longshot. In a story about a man who is looking to lighten his load by sticking to the skies, there have to be compelling reasons to keep one’s feet on the ground, lest the audience take flight as well. Clooney’s supporting cast (Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman) provides harmony to his pitch-perfect melody, that more than satisfactorily drowns out the screaming children and chatter of this 109-minute flight, with Famiga’s more-than-a-bag-of-peanuts performance as Clooney’s match – literally made-in-heaven – adding to the agonizing drama of a life lived in an effort to avoid just that…drama.

There are no explosions. No ongoing sex scenes. No raging battles, and no self-indulgent prattling about the fleeting of youth. So, what is it? What gives this movie wings?

Well, for starters, it has that quiet…something. The central cast (Clooney, Bateman, Kendrick) is eerily believable as a group of fire-‘em-with-kindness professionals who, at least in the field, seem committed to adding a pinch of dignity to an otherwise awful, and timely deed. And Clooney’s waning devotions to his core philosophy are equally as convincing. You feel like you are actually peering into the life of a faceless drone at a crowded airport.

But these are not the primary ingredients. I think in the end, what draws us is the subtle unfolding of these weightless characters who gently unravel like balls of yarn hanging from plane bellies. We must confront our own attachments and relationships as we watch Clooney soar above his own. When push comes to shove, do we really have shoulders strong enough to support the weight of our lives, or do we flit away at the first sign of true responsibility?

And, maybe most importantly, do we have what it takes to face life squarely with an occasional break? Or do we just want to escape.

Watch Up In the Air with an open and honest mind, and see what you think. Oh, and I find popcorn still rounds out the movie nicely. There will be no need for a small bag of peanuts.

-josh