Win Win (2011)

Jack and I were looking forward to this story of a stressed out small-town lawyer with a family of four who brings a high school boy into his life and the wrestling team he coaches, and we loved it! The combination of director/writer Thomas AKA Tom McCarthy and star Paul Giamatti is an indie film lover's dream, fulfilled with humor and heart. Giamatti (I first wrote about him in Cold Souls, then he was in The Last Station and Barney's Version) is, yes, the schlubby character he often plays, but his Mike is a smart guy with a loving family and some devoted friends. McCarthy has done some acting (Boston Public, part of the ensemble of Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), 2012, more) and has a story writing credit (with an Oscar nomination) for Up, but the three movies he wrote and directed (The Station Agent (2003), The Visitor, and this) are spectacular in their quiet ways. All three have characters who don't like or aren't good at dealing with society's expectations and outsiders who join their lives. Speaking of story credits, McCarthy's long-time friend, Joe Tiboni (who has a cameo as the high school principal), is an elder-care lawyer in the town of New Providence NJ, where the movie is set, and is not only credited as story co-creator, much of the plot is taken from Tiboni's own experiences. He has a blog (I suggest waiting until after you see the movie to read it) and in the March 10, 2011 post, which as of today is the most recent, he discusses the origins and dissimilarities between his life and the movie. I looked for McCarthy's cameo and thought I spotted him in a scene outside the pricipal's office, but he's not listed as such on imdb, and they usually catch those, plus he didn't take a cameo in the other two.

Supporting cast is terrific. The young wrestler Kyle is played by Alex Shaffer, winner at age 17 of the 2010 New Jersey State Wrestling Championship, in his acting debut (unfortunately his personal wrestling career ended when be broke his L-5 vertebrae) and he carries it off well. Talented Amy Ryan (the drugged-out mom in Gone Baby Gone (2007), Changeling, Jack Goes Boating, and, of course Michael Scott's girlfriend Holly on The Office) gives plenty of personality to Mike's fiercely loyal wife, which isn't that big a part. Bobby Cannavale is always good at playing the persistent guy who really, really wants to help you, whether you like it or not, as he did in The Station Agent and the short-lived (for good reason) series Cupid, and here he's very cute. Dependably quirky Jeffrey Tambor (so great as George Bluth Sr. on Arrested Development, as "Hey Now" Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders show, and I liked him in the movie Pollack (2000), among many) is the other wrestling coach, Burt Young (128 acting credits, best known for the Rocky series (1976, 1979, 1982, 1985, 2006), and for playing various goons of Italian heritage) is Kyle's grandfather, Melanie Lynskey (Heavenly Creatures (1994), Shattered Glass (2003), Away We Go, Up in the Air, more) gives her all as Kyle's mom, and the ubiquitous Margo Martindale (I've seen but a fraction of her work, but I particularly liked the serieses The Riches and Dexter, in each of which she was a neighbor, and her segment of Paris Je T'aime (2006), in which she speaks French with a very American accent) makes an appearance as another lawyer.

There's a new song by the National (this video has outtakes, production video--that's McCarthy in the navy T-shirt in the gym--and no spoilers. Ignore the snarky "we don't have to" in the page's first paragraph) on the soundtrack, but I also really liked the original music (go to this Amazon page and click Play all samples) by guitarist Lyle Workman, who, in addition to scoring Made (2001), The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005), Superbad (2007), Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), Yes Man, and Get Him to the Greek, has worked with Todd Rundgren, Beck, and Sting.

This movie really is a must-see. Like Juno and Little Miss Sunshine, it's a slice of life with ordinary people living normal lives, making mistakes, appreciating irony, loving each other, and doing what they can in realistic situations.