Win Win (2011)
Studio: 20th Century Fox/Fox Searchlight
Theatrical Release: March 18, 2011
Blu Ray Release: August 30,2011
R
Review by James Klein
Lets say you are about to go to a restaurant that all of your friends and family have told you was really good so you decide to give it a try. You order your meal but when it arrives, the meat is dry, the potatoes are cold, and the vegetables are bland. You wonder why everyone recommend this place and can't understand why they thought this place had tasty food. That's how I felt when I got done watching Win Win, the comedy-drama that critics and audiences have fallen in love with.
Win Win stars the talented Paul Giamatti as Mike, a husband and father who is a down on his luck lawyer but also teaches high school wrestling in the evenings. Mike's law firm is about to go under and his wrestling team continues to lose despite his efforts as well as his two assistant coaches (Bobby Cannavale and Jeffrey Tambor). When one of Mike's clients (Burt Young) is about to lose his home due to his dementia, his teenage grandson Kyle that lives with him is soon out on the street. Mike takes Kyle in temporarily but does so because he is given money from the court to pay for his food and shelter. While Kyle is a quiet and introverted teen, he goes with Mike to one of his wrestling matches and decides to train with the team. Much to Mike's surprise, Kyle is a gifted wrestler and soon he is enrolled in the school and becomes the star pupil of the wrestling team. That is until Kyle's estranged and recovering drug addicted mother shows up to make matters complicated for this family.
Do you remember those paint by number coloring books? They were easy to do and yet boring. They never provided a challenge and it was always the same old colors. Well that's what Win Win is. This sappy comedy-drama is neither funny nor dramatic. If you've seen any family oriented dramas before, then you've seen this. None of the jokes are witty and none of the characters are interesting or any different than the family characters you see on these ridiculous sitcoms that are on T.V.. I can just imagine that Win Win is the type of film that lovers of sitcoms would eat up. It tries to be inspirational and "about life" but doesn't try to do anything different or quirky to stand out from all of the others. In fact, this is just a completely forgettable film that has me scratching my head wondering what everyone sees in this.
While the cast is great, their talent is wasted. Giamatti, Tambor, Young, and Amy Ryan are all great actors or can be funny in certain comedies. They try their best but can't seem to overcome the dull and predictable screenplay by writer and director Thomas McCarthy. McCarthy has done only two other films, The Station Agent and The Visitor which although I haven't seen The Visitor, I did feel almost the same way about The Station Agent although that seemed to have more of a quirky comedic tone to it than this film. Even the tagline to Win Win had me rolling my eyes: "In the game of life, you can't lose 'em all". Please.
I can't say I hated Win Win, its not terrible or poorly made. It's just a forgettable sitcom-ish type movie that did absolutely nothing for me. But I guess I am in the minority.
Theatrical Release: March 18, 2011
Blu Ray Release: August 30,2011
R
Review by James Klein
Lets say you are about to go to a restaurant that all of your friends and family have told you was really good so you decide to give it a try. You order your meal but when it arrives, the meat is dry, the potatoes are cold, and the vegetables are bland. You wonder why everyone recommend this place and can't understand why they thought this place had tasty food. That's how I felt when I got done watching Win Win, the comedy-drama that critics and audiences have fallen in love with.
Win Win stars the talented Paul Giamatti as Mike, a husband and father who is a down on his luck lawyer but also teaches high school wrestling in the evenings. Mike's law firm is about to go under and his wrestling team continues to lose despite his efforts as well as his two assistant coaches (Bobby Cannavale and Jeffrey Tambor). When one of Mike's clients (Burt Young) is about to lose his home due to his dementia, his teenage grandson Kyle that lives with him is soon out on the street. Mike takes Kyle in temporarily but does so because he is given money from the court to pay for his food and shelter. While Kyle is a quiet and introverted teen, he goes with Mike to one of his wrestling matches and decides to train with the team. Much to Mike's surprise, Kyle is a gifted wrestler and soon he is enrolled in the school and becomes the star pupil of the wrestling team. That is until Kyle's estranged and recovering drug addicted mother shows up to make matters complicated for this family.
Do you remember those paint by number coloring books? They were easy to do and yet boring. They never provided a challenge and it was always the same old colors. Well that's what Win Win is. This sappy comedy-drama is neither funny nor dramatic. If you've seen any family oriented dramas before, then you've seen this. None of the jokes are witty and none of the characters are interesting or any different than the family characters you see on these ridiculous sitcoms that are on T.V.. I can just imagine that Win Win is the type of film that lovers of sitcoms would eat up. It tries to be inspirational and "about life" but doesn't try to do anything different or quirky to stand out from all of the others. In fact, this is just a completely forgettable film that has me scratching my head wondering what everyone sees in this.
While the cast is great, their talent is wasted. Giamatti, Tambor, Young, and Amy Ryan are all great actors or can be funny in certain comedies. They try their best but can't seem to overcome the dull and predictable screenplay by writer and director Thomas McCarthy. McCarthy has done only two other films, The Station Agent and The Visitor which although I haven't seen The Visitor, I did feel almost the same way about The Station Agent although that seemed to have more of a quirky comedic tone to it than this film. Even the tagline to Win Win had me rolling my eyes: "In the game of life, you can't lose 'em all". Please.
I can't say I hated Win Win, its not terrible or poorly made. It's just a forgettable sitcom-ish type movie that did absolutely nothing for me. But I guess I am in the minority.
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