Review of Win Win (2011) by Jess K — 28 Jun 2012

Win-Win is the type of movie you can enjoy for about 100 minutes, and then begin to forget soon after. In other words, it's exactly the type of movie Paul Giamatti has been and continues to be stellar in.

The performances, beginning of course with Giamatti and Amy Ryan and all the way down the cast, are excellent. The writing is solid, at times very funny, honest and emotional without being sappy or forced.

The only problem in fact is that the film doesn't amount to much. It's a good little slice of humanity, but doesn't make much of a lasting impression. The actual story is rather slight. Some nice visual touches, character moments and observations make the film enjoyable enough, but not much more.

It escalates, as little as it does, and wraps nicely, but the question remains of why the audience should care. So we shrug and move on.