"Win Win"

[LA Ute]

This is simply a fine movie. My wife and I saw it this evening. I suspect it will be popular here. It came out of Sundance a winner. Good cast (Amy Ryan, Paul Giamatti, Jeffrey Tambor, Burt Young) great story, and an unknown young actor who will be heard from in the future.

I'm curious to see what others here think of it.

Here's the trailer:

[YOUTUBE]nbe33D59euY[/YOUTUBE]

[Katy Lied]

I'm curious to see what others here think of it.

Katy Liked it

http://www.cougaruteforum.com/showpo...&postcount=804

So did Commando

http://www.cougaruteforum.com/showpo...&postcount=422

dabrockster was looking forward to seeing it.

http://www.cougaruteforum.com/showpo...&postcount=424

PAC enjoyed it a lot, as did his wife

http://www.cougaruteforum.com/showpo...&postcount=862

I have to say, the more I mull over this movie, the better I like Bobby Canavale's performance. He's always so over-the-top, but in this movie, the director takes advantage of it, and uses it to better the movie.

[Viking]

This is simply a fine movie. My wife and I saw it this evening. I suspect it will be popular here. It came out of Sundance a winner. Good cast (Amy Ryan, Paul Giamatti, Jeffrey Tambor, Burt Young) great story, and an unknown young actor who will be heard from in the future.

I'm curious to see what others here think of it.

Here's the trailer:

[YOUTUBE]nbe33D59euY[/YOUTUBE]

Darn. I was at my place in NY the last two weeks and saw it was showing at Lincoln Plaza but never made it.

[Viking]

Darn. I was at my place in NY the last two weeks and saw it was showing at Lincoln Plaza but never made it.

But I did catch this whilst in NYC:

http://youtu.be/XP2lB__biZ4?hd=1

[LA Ute]

Katy Liked it

http://www.cougaruteforum.com/showpo...&postcount=804

So did Commando

http://www.cougaruteforum.com/showpo...&postcount=422

dabrockster was looking forward to seeing it.

http://www.cougaruteforum.com/showpo...&postcount=424

PAC enjoyed it a lot, as did his wife

http://www.cougaruteforum.com/showpo...&postcount=862

I have to say, the more I mull over this movie, the better I like Bobby Canavale's performance. He's always so over-the-top, but in this movie, the director takes advantage of it, and uses it to better the movie.

Well, heck, I searched the board for "Win Win" to make sure I wasn't creating a new thread needlessly, but I still missed all that. Your review is spot-on, IMO:

Run, dont walk, to see this movie. What a charming little gem, and I don't mean in a chick flick way. With the best wrestling scenes since Loudon Swain labored through a bloody nose in Vision Quest, this movie will be liked by everyone. I can't think of a single person that wont.

It won't change your life, it wont leave you breathless. It will allow you to celebrate human nature, chock full of frailty and triumph in every scene.

The cast is amazing--you already know Giamatti in the schlub-next-door role, but the others are great as well. The 16 year old boy is a natural. Amy Ryan (Michael Scott's girlfriend) and the Charlie Sheen stalker girl in 2-1/2 Men also turn in good performances. Bobby Cannavale too.

Apparently the kid actor is also a NJ state champion wrestler.

[creekster]

My wife and I saw this movie tonight. She went with me as my birthday present as she had little interest in the film, even scoffing in the face of LAUte's positive review.

For me, the movie was fantastic. AS a middle aged litigator, i can't tell you how closely I empathized with this poor schmuck. When he makes his fateful comment in court (if you see it you will know) near the beginning, the ultimate consequences of his subsequent actions hang like a pall over the subsequent events for me just like they do for him. I felt it in my gut.

The wrestling scenes were good but incidental, IMO. This movie is about people, their choices and redemption. It is about our poor choices in our youth, our fateful decisions as adults and the compromises we are forced to live with in middle age. And, in the end, even if we have screwed it all up, we can still act to make it better. Not perfect perhaps, but at least better. We always have hope.

It is a fantastic film. I strongly encourage everyone to see it. Even my skeptical wife liked it.

[Viking]

My wife and I saw this movie tonight. She went with me as my birthday present as she had little interest in the film, even scoffing in the face of LAUte's positive review.

For me, the movie was fantastic. AS a middle aged litigator, i can't tell you how closely I empathized with this poor schmuck. When he makes his fateful comment in court (if you see it you will know) near the beginning, the ultimate consequences of his subsequent actions hang like a pall over the subsequent events for me just like they do for him. I felt it in my gut.

The wrestling scenes were good but incidental, IMO. This movie is about people, their choices and redemption. It is about our poor choices in our youth, our fateful decisions as adults and the compromises we are forced to live with in middle age. And, in the end, even if we have screwed it all up, we can still act to make it better. Not perfect perhaps, but at least better. We always have hope.

It is a fantastic film. I strongly encourage everyone to see it. Even my skeptical wife liked it.

No!!! I was hoping it wouldn't be this good!

I won't be in NY for another 5 weeks so ughh...

Barney's Version is the only movie I can remember in which I cried. Giamatti is an under-rated actor, imho

[LA Ute]

My wife and I saw this movie tonight. She went with me as my birthday present as she had little interest in the film, even scoffing in the face of LAUte's positive review.

For me, the movie was fantastic. AS a middle aged litigator, i can't tell you how closely I empathized with this poor schmuck. When he makes his fateful comment in court (if you see it you will know) near the beginning, the ultimate consequences of his subsequent actions hang like a pall over the subsequent events for me just like they do for him. I felt it in my gut.

Yes. That was a key element in a script that was written with great artistry. I kept thinking, "This is all really great, but what about ....?"

The wrestling scenes were good but incidental, IMO. This movie is about people, their choices and redemption. It is about our poor choices in our youth, our fateful decisions as adults and the compromises we are forced to live with in middle age. And, in the end, even if we have screwed it all up, we can still act to make it better. Not perfect perhaps, but at least better. We always have hope.

Redemption is a very common theme in film and in literature generally, and often it isn't done well. That it was done so well in this film is one of the true achievements of the writer-director, Thomas McCarthy.