Wall Street Journal, Accountants Get Their Dream: Another Movie About Accounting:
CPAs are geeked for the morale boost that only the bean-counting badass in the movie can provide; ‘It’s our ‘John Wick.‘’
Leigh Olphin got fed up at work recently while trying to learn how to use new AI automation software. So the 37-year-old accountant did what she often does when she returns home from a stressful day: Watch “The Accountant.”
Like many other people in her field, Olphin is obsessed with the 2016 film because it bestows ass-kicking qualities on someone in her decidedly nerdy profession. The movie stars Ben Affleck as Christian Wolff, an accountant with autism who uses both math and martial arts in his job auditing the books for corrupt businessmen.
“It’s our ‘John Wick,’” she said, referring to the movie franchise centered on a legendary hit man. …
“The Accountant 2” hits theaters next week, 10 days after the tax-filing deadline and not a moment too soon for the film’s biggest fans. The profession has faced challenge after challenge since the original movie came out, including auditing shortfalls, a worker shortage and the existential threat of AI. In short, accountants could use a morale boost. …
Just like in the first film, the sequel makes fleeting references to the keywords of accounting 101: the IRS tax form 1040, accounts receivable and Ebitda, which he spells out for the uninformed viewer. …
Producers enlisted a team of accountants to vet the dialogue and documents for authenticity, said Lynette Howell Taylor, a producer on both films. …
Accountants have been represented in popular culture over the years. In “The Office,” Oscar, Angela and Kevin work in Dunder-Mifflin’s accounting department. “Parks & Recreation” features Ben Wyatt, a state auditor with no shortage of accounting puns at his disposal. In “The Shawshank Redemption,” the main character is a former banker and convicted murderer who ingratiates himself with the prison guards by doing their taxes.
But “The Accountant” put a CPA in the titular role—and made him super tough. …
Varun Jain, 40, said he appreciates that “The Accountant” tries to make the profession appear glamorous, an approach that’s necessary to lure new entrants amid a deep shortage of skilled accountants. “You don’t really see accountants really kicking ass,” he said.
New York Times, Death, Taxes and Ben Affleck: ‘The Accountant’ Gets a Sequel:
Nine years and a change of studios later, a sequel, “The Accountant 2,” arrives on Friday, with Affleck and much of the original cast (Jon Bernthal, J.K. Simmons, Cynthia Addai-Robinson) returning, along with the director Gavin O’Connor and the screenwriter Bill Dubuque. In two conversations — one at South by Southwest in March, before the film’s premiere there, and another virtually earlier this month — Affleck, O’Connor and Dubuque discussed regaining the rights to the story, the definition of success and a potential idea for a third film.
New York Times, ‘The Accountant 2’ Review: Ben Affleck’s Revenge of the Killer Nerd:
“The Accountant 2” is a blithely nonsensical, enjoyably vulgar follow-up to “The Accountant” (2016) about a numbers whiz played by Ben Affleck, who has impeccable marksmanship and shaky people skills. Like the first movie, the sequel embraces violence without apology, slathers the screen with (fake) blood and unleashes a small army of stunt performers who convincingly play dead. This one has another complicated intrigue and a great deal of plot, though most of the tension comes from watching Affleck struggle to suppress a smile while sharing the screen with an exuberantly showboating Jon Bernthal.
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