In the Company of Men (WARNING: SPOIILERS)

The 90's are in no shortage of films set in the world of business, and In the Company of Men is a product of that. Like others of its caliber, it primarily explores power and masculinity in the corporate sector, where appearances and ruthlessness go just as far as skill. 

The film's premise is as follows. Two business colleagues, the charismatic, alpha male Chad, and the more passive, awkward Howard, are assigned to an office away from home for a few weeks on a project in which Howard has chosen to be in charge of. Both of the men seem to be going through tough times at the hands of their respective women, and while drinking, Chad makes a proposal to Howard. Essentially, he is looking for them to find a woman, and both pursue her romantically throughout the business trip. Then, when they head home, they both go no contact and drop her, leaving the poor girl reeling.

Howard is reluctant, but Chad insists that they have both been wronged and deserve some revenge, and eventually Howard caves. Soon, Chad finds a suitable target; a pretty, deaf girl named Christine who works in the same building. 

The two pursue the plan, with Chad clearly being the smoother operator. When discussing it with Howard, he always undercuts his meeker compatriot, making sure Howard never is really that successful. Howard begins to genuinely have feelings for Christine, but she falls for Chad. Meanwhile, Chad has secretly been sabotaging Howard at work as well, making sure Howard seems incompetent. This results in Howard being demoted and Chad promoted, with the truth being unbeknownst to Howard. 

Finally, things come to a close. Howard is rejected by Christine, who in turn has her heart crushed by Chad, and the two men go back home. Unable to move past his love for Christine, Howard goes to plea with Chad, who reveals his partner never left hurt him and is happily asleep in the other room, before dismissing Howard from his home. Howard travels to see Christine, and wildly attempts to gain her attention, who coldly ignores him.

All in all, the film is an interesting piece regarding two opposites of men and contrasting them. The film touches on many themes and issues, including sexism, corporate culture, and other topics, but I want to focus primarily on the duality the film presents between Chad and Howard.

Chad, as his name might suggest, represents the extreme of what now might be called toxic masculinity. He is the combination of some of the worst features of a traditional male. He is certainly charismatic, and good looking to boot, but he is manipulative, callous, self-centered, and worst of all, cruel. 

He views everybody around him as an object to toy around with, existing only for his amusement. It doesn't matter if it's a young intern, a woman, or his supposed friend. He will mock them all behind their backs, manipulate them into embarrassing situations, all the while framing himself as the confident and successful foil with which everyone else looks poorly next to. He is successful in this because while he is a dick, he is a master of conversation and persuasion. He knows the right things to say, and carries himself with an air of confidence that is hard to distrust. Strong, handsome, intelligent, and socially adept, his malice is largely rewarded.

Now many would stop here, focusing most of their attention on Chad. But Howard is not off the hook; in fact, I might even argue that of the two Howard actually represents the worst extreme.

Howard is the opposite of Chad in most ways, and therefore represents the extreme of an emasculated man. At the end of the day, for the most part, Howard may be an affable guy who really isn't a bad man. So, compared to Chad, who is at his core a terrible person, how is Howard worse?

Simply put, Howard is a coward, and his lack of strength and conviction is what exactly what enables Chad to be so destructive. It is clear from the beginning that Howard is never fully comfortable with the plan, yet he only makes meek protests while simultaneously letting himself get pushed into agreement. He never has the guts to tell his friend that this arrangement is twisted and wrong and he won't be a part of it, even as Chad backhandedly belittles him and generally treats Howard like a loser sidekick.

What really seals the deal for Howard being a dangerous symbol is when he finally snaps. It is a story all too common in modern times; lost, hurt, downtrodden men who become angry. His blowup in the car is the worst of a weak man. He screams at Christine, becoming needlessly insensitive towards her in his rage. He belittles her, and acts as though he deserves her because he was the nice guy. He grabs her by the face in a move that is incredibly out of line. And after it is all said and done, he is a broken man, too anemic in character to carve out the things he needs and wants from life and destined to live in misery and indignant self-pity.

That is the danger of weakness. Men like Chad may be objectively worse, but they are going to lord above the Howards of the world, who will enable them whilst simultaneously teetering towards instability and malice of their own. They are decidedly pathetic in the truest sense of the term.

Strength alone, be it physically or otherwise, is not by itself a bad thing. Righteous strength is one of the purest virtues. Righteous strength on Howard's part would have saved both him and Christine worlds of pain. Sure, Chad might have womanized and schemed in the workplace on his own, but he would be denied an accomplice, and therefore an anchor to work off of. 

It would be wrong to take away from the film that attributes such as confidence and authority are evil. Chad is an evil man, but he has traits that would be positive in the hands of a good man. Howard could be a good man, but with no spine, he is destined to be walked over until he is pushed into desperate darkness. 

The film leaves us with an indirect alternative to the two types of men it presents. A man who is caring and morally well adjusted, but who is also driven and self-assured. A sort of balance point between the two.

If I had take the core message I received from the film and put it into a single statement, I would say this: compassion without strength is weakness, and strength without compassion is cruelty.