Years ago, Tommy Lee Jones came to Tokyo and said to a room full of overworked reporters: "I envy the Japanese. You don't have any vacation time. I hate vacations, they make me ill." That must have struck a resounding chord with the media here, because soon after that Jones started appearing in ads, adorned posters and got a guest spot on a variety show. No wonder the guy looked so convincing in drab, dark business suits: He was one of us!
Indeed, the role of cranky, creased, nicotine-soaked workaholic fits Jones like a seat groove on the Tokaido Line. He's perfect in "The Company Men," playing a guy who worked his way up the ladder rung by bloody rung, and then waxes eloquent about those same rungs, back in the good old days.
"The Company Men" has the tag line, "In America, we give our lives to our jobs. It's time to take them back." But you can see from Jones' expression that though he may say stuff like that — to console a laid-off employee, for example — in his heart, he's saying "No way." Downtime? Family time? Slow life with the wife? Mention these things and he may run screaming from the room.