Up in the Air Trailer: Come Fly with Clooney

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Telluride exports Paranormal Activity and The Red Riding Trilogy certainly have their devoted partisans, but it seems like everyone was a fan of Jason Reitman's George Clooney dramedy Up in the Air. As we wait to see whether the film's Toronto debut will throw at it any turbulence (otherwise, a smooth landing in Oscarville seems assured), Slashfilm's got its first teaser trailer, embedded after the jump.

Before I clicked play, I was willing to go either way on this one. A lot of people have suggested that Reitman is thus far 3 for 3, but Thank You for Smoking didn't actually work for me, while more of Juno worked for me than I was expecting. Still, the Up in the Air teaser is a gem, precisely cut in the most perfect way: so as to reveal no actual plot yet still make an emotional, tonal impression. And hey, did I glimpse Danny McBride without his trademark mullet?

For all the Billy Wilder comparisons suddenly being applied to Reitman, I've thought it was apparent from Thank You for Smoking onward that Alexander Payne's Election is clearly his most formative touchstone (an idea not disproven by the casting of Anna Kendrick here in full Tracy Flick mode). Still, Payne hasn't been making movies lately, and this one, instead of merely aping his style, looks like it might match it. Let's hope so.

VERDICT: Sold.

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