Review of Win Win (2011) by Gavin B — 05 Sep 2011

I already know The Fat Man won't be giving this indie film from Fox Searchlight a positive review. See, he saw it when it came out in theatres back in March and since I couldn't get to it, held off on writing what he had to say. But I did find in the archives an empty draft post for the flick entitled "Win Win - No Go." So, I'm just guessing he's not a fan. Of course, that just makes things all the more interesting around here, because I really enjoyed this soft focus character study.

It's not that the movie doesn't have its problems. Far too slowly paced mostly due to its unusual strong mid-section focus on high school wrestling, it's hard to believe that there wasn't a plot thread left unfinished. But there actually are quite a few. And since I invested so much time with these well acted and well drawn roles, the fact there are many unanswered questions hurts a lot more than it normally would. But, I'm really getting ahead of myself.

Win Win is about Mike, a man who is struggling. Money is tight and it's causing strain on his family ties. The fact that the man is portrayed by the incomparable Paul Giamatti helps immensely. Giamatti has done some amazing things with these low key roles, you hardly ever forget sometimes he's gone the completely opposite direction in films like Big Fat Liar. And speaking of which, circumstances play out early in the movie that provide him a possible answer to his money woes. The only problem is, he's got to stop playing it straight and do something shady. The decision is tough, particularly because, he's the type of guy who at the end of a frustrating day will buy a pack of cigarettes, light one, and then throw the rest away because he knows its not good for him. Besides, it's not that bad, really, just a little sneak-a-roo around the court where he's appointed guardian of one of the elderly folks he's normally representing anyway. And it would benefit others!

However, due to his decision to do a small tiny little wrong, he ends up reaping more than he certainly bargained for. First it comes in the guise of Kyle, a mysterious bleach-blond haired kid who claims to be the grandson of the old man Mike is kinda snookering. This would be bad, except Kyle happens to be an amazing wrestler and Mike is a coach at one of the local high schools. Even better, it appears Kyle's home life is in complete disarray, so staying with Mike and his family would be a great thing. The wins in Win Win start piling up here. But of course, Kyle's mother appears and towards the back half of the film, the repercussions of that slight misstep in character begin unraveling.

There is so much to enjoy in the process, I think. Even if you look past a real honest portrayal of people who aren't completely good or evil and are shown with murky intentions a brilliant shade of grey. You could very well enjoy the humor, as Win Win features its own Robert Downey Jr act-alike in Bobby Cannavale. I know I certainly cracked up more often than not at Mike's goofy best friend. Or maybe you want to invest more thought into how complex the Kyle character turns out. His mostly dry delivery of minimalistic, and sometimes non sequitur lines were really peculiar but also fairly realistic of a modern American teenager.

"Whatever the fuck it takes," as one of the very well put coaching phrases used in the film. Because Win Win really is a good movie to see. Even though it's, as usual, too long, could have tried to keep its secondary plot devices more well groomed, and even probably might have shed its vulgar language to reach a broader audience. It's not a complete slam dunk, but its a lot better than a mere draw.