Danny McBride is one of the most unique comedic voices of his generation, and has transitioned from a valuable supporting player to a star in his own right. Although McBride has now led three very successful prestige HBO shows with Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals, and The Righteous Gemstones, he had already been doing standout work in hit comedies since the dawn of the 21st century. McBride has always shown bravery in his comedic range, as he has been willing to do anything and everything to elicit laughter from an audience. Despite being associated with some of the most influential works of comedy within the last few decades, McBride showed a rare dramatic side in the Oscar-nominated drama Up in the Air.
Who Does Danny McBride Play in ‘Up in the Air’?
Up in the Air stars George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a human resources consultant who specializes in employee termination, a job that causes him to regularly travel the country to meet with various companies. Although the process of firing employees is a draining one, Bingham also becomes burdened with a young coworker, Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), who proposes radical ways for the company to digitize their meetings. Bingham’s ability to talk to people often comes in handy, as he’s generally much better at reading others than he is at caring for himself. McBride makes an appearance as the terrified groom, Jim Miller, who is engaged to be married to Bingham’s sister, Julie (Melanie Lynskey). After Jim begins to have cold feet about his future moments before the ceremony is set to begin, Bingham is forced to intervene and give him some practical advice.
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McBride is tasked with showing the pressure that comes with making a significant life decision, as it is much easier to discuss topics like marriage theoretically. While there are early moments of Julie and Jim interacting in which McBride plays into his inherent comedic abilities, the abrupt moment of his breakdown is quite jarring. The scene is integral to Up in the Air, as it forces Bingham to reflect on his own anxieties to help Jim positively. Bingham has struggled to form any long-term relationships, as his romance with the businesswoman Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga) was thwarted when he realized she was married. Bingham himself may not be able to sustain a prolonged romantic relationship, and thus can explain its virtues to Jim in a moment of vulnerability. McBride’s performance is surprisingly nuanced, although he has very notable comedic sensibilities; while it would have been easy for the film to depict Jim as being callous or ignorant of Julie’s feelings, McBride shows the very real impact that latent anxieties have.
‘Up in the Air’ Explores Modern Relationships
Even within his sillier roles, McBride grounds his characters in a sense of realism, which could be attributed to the work in independent cinema that he did with David Gordon Green. If McBride’s humorous characters were particularly hilarious because they reminded audiences of something real, then his more serious role in Up in the Air is equally effective, as he has a very natural reaction to entering the next stage of his life. Early scenes in the film depict Jim and Julie as being an idealistic couple, as they seemingly have the optimism, compassion, and stability that Bingham lacks in his own life. While it was important to show that Bingham felt like an outsider, McBride was able to show that Jim shares many of the same qualities with his brother-in-law.
McBride is able to generate compassion for a complex character, who could have easily been unsympathetic if he were portrayed as being insensitive. What’s critical about the scene is that there is nothing about Jim’s reaction that is related to Julie; rather, he feels that he isn’t emotionally mature enough to accept the responsibilities of spending the rest of his life with her. It’s a tough scene to watch, as McBride is able to show the cracks in an endearing facade. However, the emotional breakthrough that McBride depicts so beautifully helps Up in the Air stand out as a modern dramatic film with insight about the philosophy of human relationships.
Up In The Air
- Release Date
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December 23, 2009
- Runtime
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109 minutes
- Director
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Jason Reitman
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