Review of Win Win (2011) by Kelly B — 08 Oct 2011

What were they thinking? Paul Giamatti's about as believable as Charlie Sheen as... well, Charlie Sheen being anyone else but Charlie Sheen. Oh wait, this isn't the tragic story of that nutcase, that's "Winning". Sorry, but you can understand my confusion, because Paul Giamatti is one of the best miserable dirtbag players in the business, and plus, Rose from "Two and a Half Men" is in here. Well, I knew something was a bit off, because there's a definate distinction with Melanie Lynskey in here, for instead of being some funky-looking, deeply disturbed and annoying plague, she's... well, a deeply disturbed and annoying plague, but looks pretty decent here, and on top of that, her acting is really good. Looking at her subtle, but somewhat noticable physique manipulation and fine acting ability, she might be the female Christian Bale for all we know, but I guess we never will know, because they keep pushing her in the background to show off a Kevin James/Reptile hybrid like Paul Giamatti. Of course, there's a reason for that: So Paul Giamatti can use his great acting talent to lead yet another uplifting work of art, because as we all know, Paul Giamatti is the definative "feel-good act...-man, I can't even finish "typing" that joke, it's so radical.

This is pure indie comedy for you. It offers charm and emotion in a realistic and very effective way. Of course, like most other indie films, it needs a better editor. Many a scene change feels abrupt and like there's a preceeding scene missing. To make matters worse the subplots don't connect well enough and you're left forgetting that the story at hand isn't the only one. The film feels rather thrown together at points, because the editor doesn't know what to stretch out, what to trim down and what to connect, making it pretty easy to lose interest after a while. Really, outside of the editing, there's not much to complain about, just like there's not much to praise, as you would expect from a film like, but what strengths you can find definately warrant some discussion.

The film boasts charm, with characters and situations written in a realistic and human way and humor being executed subtley, yet effectively. Still, there is drama in the scenario and although the film isn't terribly dark, it doesn't let you forget that the hurt is coming, and when it arrives, it delivers on emotion. The film isn't a hard-hitter, but it's not looking to be and only aims to charm and warm the audience. The film succeeds, not just thanks to its fine screenplay and direction, but because of its wide cast of sharp performers, each with their own bolt of charisma to fuel the sharp chemistry that defines both the humor and drama of the film. Still, although there's not much in the script that demands much more than charisma from our performers, there are some who get the chance to step-out, and among those people is young Alex Shaffer, who makes quite the impressive debut by capturing a sense of charm from the young Kyle Timmons, but emits an atmosphere that doesn't let you forget his troubles and has you wondering when and what he's going to become, and when that time finally comes, he delivers on the emotion in a compellingly human way. As for the lovely (or at least in here) Melanie Lynskey, she arrives quite late, but makes her time up by really having you torn, as she's able to sharply convey the problems that could damage her loved ones, but at the same time, she also shows that her character really is going through struggles that she's trying to work her way out of. Of course, the real center of the film is Paul Giamatti and he owns it with sharp charisma that makes the flaws in his character feel really human, and his compelling atmosphere has you looking through those flaws, wondering what's going to happen to this very engaging lead.

In the end, it's messy editing leaves many major elements and story points in the film to feel thrown-together, if not messily focused-upon, but no matter how messily-covered the story is, it remains a story that delivers on the charm and emotion in a consistently believable and compelling fashion, and with sharp humor and solid performances by a wide, colorful cast of fine talents spicing it all up, "Win Win" ultimately stands as a thoroughly enjoyable experience that's worth having.

3/5 - Good.