Amid the overkill, there are scenes of a sudden and startling beauty, and the impotent ranks of teachers are played by a cast of surprising (if underused) power, including Marcia Gay Harden, Christina Hendricks, Blythe Danner, William Petersen, Lucy Liu, a tweedy Tim Blake Nelson, and, best of all, James Caan.

NEWYORKER: Movies

"We're trying to create a whole new industry, " says John Danner, the chief executive of Codon.

FORBES: Architect of Life

The large cast also includes Joe Mantegna, Alec Baldwin, Blythe Danner, Judy Davis, Bob Balaban, and Bernadette Peters (who does a sensational brief turn as a cynical muse).

NEWYORKER: Alice

"Reforming the corporate tax code does not help the majority of small businesses, " Dan Danner, chief executive of the National Federation of Independent Business, said in a statement.

WSJ: Small-Business Groups React to Tax Plan

Dan Danner is president and chief executive officer of the National Federation of Independent Business, a nonprofit, nonpartisan trade association based in Washington, D.

FORBES: $5.5 Billion Spent On Small Business Saturday