It’s always rough-going at the multiplex the first few months of the year. With the award season over and done with, that’s when Hollywood releases all their schlock at once: a teen angsty alien flick, mediocre 3D animation upon mediocre 3D animation, any Nicolas Cage films they find lying around. And while I’ve heard that The Lincoln Lawyer isn’t as terrible as it looks (not saying much) and that Source Code is decent-ish, there’s only one film amongst current releases that’s really worth seeing: Win Win.
With The Station Agent, The Visitor, and now Win Win, writer-director (and actor) Tom McCarthy has made three versions of the same dramedy, and that’s not a problem. It’s always a group of individuals who are thrown together by circumstance, and though they are not related (and may not even start out liking each other), these disparate characters eventually come together to form a family of their own. Apparently, I am completely fine with that level of redundancy, as I’ve enjoyed that story all three times.
This time around, there’s Paul Giamatti (America’s Schlubheart™), as a stressed-out small-town attorney/volunteer high school wrestling coach who takes on the guardianship of an elderly client to make some extra cash, only to end up also taking in the client’s runaway grandson. Of course, things end up more complicated than originally expected, especially when the troubled teen ends up being a wrestling wunderkind. The film is rounded out with solid performances from Amy Ryan as his wife, Bobby Cannavale and Jeffrey Tambor as friends, and newcomer Alex Shaffer as the young wrestler.
McCarthy’s films always employ subtleties of characters, thanks to that strong casting. In his actors’ hands, the otherwise basic plotpoints and struggles come off as genuinely warm and emotional; the movie ends up being both human and humane. Win Win is a simple, special film that stays with you long after the credits roll–and that’s way more than you can say for Limitless or Sucker Punch.
Win Win is currently playing at the Guild 45th, Pacific Place, and Lincoln Square.