Win Win (R)
Mike:
Scott:
Mike: Tonight we are reviewing Win Win, the story of a man trying to keep his family afloat and the consequences that can have for other people.
Scott is taking a leave of absence, so tonight please welcome reviewer Mike Ivey.
What did you think Mike?
Ivey: Ivey likey. Win Win is a nice little film by the same writer/director of The Station Agent and The Visitor. So he has a nice pedigree that he's built for himself that continues to get better.
Mike: I really enjoyed this film, too. I think this is the best film of the year that no one has heard of.
Ivey: It was apparently a Sundance selection, and although that doesn't necessarily mean that it'll be good, it really is a lovely dramedy.
Mike: When I hear something is a Sundance selection, it makes me take notice. That was certainly the case with Cedar Rapids, another dramedy that I had not heard of.
I will also say that having seen The Visitor and loving it, I was curious to know what writer/director Thomas McCarthy had come up with this time.
Ivey: Paul Giamatti plays Mike Flaherty, a floundering small town attorney that coaches a hopeless high school wrestling team to supplement his income. But when an opportunity to make an easy $1500/month presents itself, Mike can't resist.
And that's when the movie really kicks off.
Mike: Paul Giamatti is not pretty, but man is he good. From "Pig Vomit" in Howard Stern's Private Parts to the title character in John Adams, I am impressed with this guy.
Ivey: I'm a big fan of Giamatti, as well. He's carved out a nice little niche for himself. He's not as highbrow as Philip Seymour Hoffman, but he easily portrays the prototypical, yet captivating 'every man' character. Like you said, he's not exactly handsome, but he has the perfect look to portray his common man roles. And that adds a hefty amount of believability to his films.
Mike: Nicely put. I think it is that 'every man' quality that attracts me to him.
Giamatti is the anchor of the film, but he is surrounded by a standout cast.
Ivey: Amy Ryan -- probably best known as Michael Scott's girlfriend on The Office -- plays Giamatti's wife, Jackie. She caught everyone's attention in Gone Baby Gone and once again brings her unique emotionality to this film. Ryan isn't a stunner, but is attractive in her own right. She's an incredible talent and as we've seen on The Office, holds her own against a comedic lead male.
Mike: She is not really pretty, but there is definitely something attractive about her. She is both sympathetic and quite funny.
Ivey: Jeffrey Tambor and Bobby Cannavale provide tons of comic relief as Giamatti's best buds and assistant wrestling coaches.
Mike: Tambor always cracks me up, going back to The Larry Sanders Show, but I didn't know that Cannavale could be so funny. He adds some of the movie's funniest moments.
Ivey: The easy $1500/month comes with some moral ambiguity -- Mike becomes guardian to an elderly Leo Poplar (played by Burt Young). But once Kyle, Leo's runaway teenage grandson arrives, it gives concern as to whether Leo's family will get involved and ruin Mike's newfound monthly bonus. Luckily for Mike, Kyle is a standout wrestler and all of a sudden, Mike is in a "Win Win" situation.
Mike: At first when Kyle shows up, you think, this is certainly going to throw a wrench in things, but quickly you realize that this boy may need the Flahertys as much as Mike needs his wrestling ability.
Ivey: Newcomer Alex Shaffer plays the rebellious Kyle, a wise-beyond-his-age wrestling phenom. He takes most of his frustration out on Giamatti once he discovers that he's not taking care of his grandfather out of the kindness of his own heart.
Mike: Shaffer holds his own among some very seasoned actors including Rocky's Burt Young as grandfather Leo.
Ivey: Director McCarthy has a knack of building these relationships that are a little sweeter than real life. And that's the best part of movieland's escapism.
Mike: Here's some trivia, Shaffer actually was a championship High School wrestler until an injury sidelined him.
Ivey: Yep, broke a vertebra. In an interview, the young actor admitted that he's more comfortable wrestling than acting.
Mike: The last person I wanted to mention is Melanie Lynskey as Kyle's mom Cindy.
She is probably most famous for playing Rose on Two and a Half Men, but her acting in this role will make you completely forget that.
Ivey: She's a wreck. If Kyle looked like a monkey wrench to Mike's plan, Cindy is the rest of the tool box!
Mike: So Mike, how do you rate this on a scale of 1-5?
Ivey: Everyone that loves Giamatti in his previous roles will love this movie as well. But if you think he's run his course of sad and underachieving characters, then you should skip this one as it's more of the same. Personally, I can watch Giamatti in a variation of this role for the rest of his career.
I'm giving it a 4.
Mike: I also give it a 4 out of 5 as a nice adult family drama. You had a good point the other day, that except for some language this might appeal to a wider PG-13 audience.
As I said before, I hope that Fox promotes this movie to keep it from being a great movie that no one has ever heard of.
Ivey: Win Win is a very sweet movie. If your kid won't repeat the harsh language -- and is over 13 -- I say take them to see this movie. If not for the language, I could see this being marketed as a family film if it had squeaked out a PG-13 rating. To take out the language would hinder some of the hearty jokes and diminish the film. But since it's an 'R', I think some adults may be hard pressed to leave their kids with the babysitter during date night in order to watch this film instead of the rest of the 'R' movies currently in release. But one of the advantages that this movie has is the lack of violence (minus the high school wrestling, of course.) I dwell on the rating because I know it segments its potential audience -- and I want people to see this movie!
