Pushing Tin

(Fox)

At New York's Terminal Radar Approach Control Center, fast-talking Nick Falzone (John Cusack) faces a challenge when Russell Bell (Billy Bob Thornton), half-Choctaw and all Zen, gets transferred into town. Based on a New York Times magazine cover story, Mike Newell's film plays for laughs the inherent insanity of the air-traffic biz, getting comic mileage out of the escalating rivalry between the Nick and Russell and the zany camaraderie that comes to include their wives, patient Connie Falzone (Cate Blanchett) and sad and sexy Mary Bell (Angelina Jolie). As the rivalry boils over and the controllers lose control, Pushing Tin gropes toward a conclusion -- still, this is a smart, funny look at the boys crazy enough to do a man's job.