For 52-year-old Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid), life is pretty good. He’s got the corner office, the nice house, the beautiful wife . . . but of course, all of that doesn’t make for very interesting cinema. So, before Dan realizes it, his wife (the mother of his two teenage daughters) gets pregnant; his oldest daughter announces her plans to transfer to a much more expensive college; and he gets replaced at work — by a 26-year-old. Ouch. The lesson that Communism can teach us is that everyone is dispensable.

That 26-year-old is Carter Duryea (Topher Grace), a young, inexperienced corporate hopeful brought in to revamp the advertising department of “Sports America” magazine. Carter wastes no time in getting to work, laying people off and drinking lots and lots of coffee.

Carter and Dan begin to build a relationship, starting when Carter invites himself to dinner at the Foreman’s house. Here he meets Dan’s 18-year-old daughter, Alex (Scarlett Johannson), a college freshman and tennis player. Carter and Alex bond over foosball and pizza, which then leads to coffee, and more coffee, which then leads to . . . sushi, of course. But one can only date the daughter of one’s business associate for so long before there is bound to be trouble.

For “In Good Company,” the trouble is never major. Never completely unmanageable. We see the father/son dynamic brewing between Carter and Dan as well as the potential love blossoming between Carter and Alex, and we know that only one relationship will be able to survive. We see Dan struggling with his age and obligations, but we never feel like he can’t handle it. The movie keeps us pretty safe — wrapped up in a changing yet secure world.

While the film is not entirely without its moments of cliché — the obligatory bar scene (complete with Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools” playing in the background), the mandatory company basketball team and the quintessential “goth chick” roommate at NYU — the film is vibrant enough to keep us entertained and genuinely interested.

“In Good Company” works because the actors make it work. Grace transforms himself into the super-hyper-yet-lonely Carter with great ease and naturalness. Johansson is both strong and vulnerable as Alex, giving her character depth and likeability. (Of course the inevitability that she will become involved with Carter is only a matter of time. This is Hollywood after all — dim the lights and cue the Sade.) And let’s be honest, it’s nice to see Dennis Quaid doing something, anything, that isn’t “Dragonheart.”

In short, if you’re looking for a feel-good film (and I would go so far as to say “the feel-good film of the year” — since it’s still January), “In Good Company” is definitely worth a look.