Easily my favorite Giamatti film - pure fun entertainment

Rating: Null/10 (5 September 2011)

I'd heard this was a good effort but I was a little skeptical, Giamatti makes odd little movies that you have to be in the mood for, I think. But this one anyone would be proud to be behind. And Giamatti is excellent.
Giamatti is on screen almost continuously and it's a blessing but he's hardly alone. There's his wife, played by Amy Ryan, who is so dead on I laughed my head off at her portrayal. Then there's Bobby Cannavale who plays Giamatti's best friend who also supplies comic relief when needed. And Kyle's mother played by Melanie Lynskey is another well crafted performance where an actor is handed the ball and no one's let down. And there's even more noteworthy in terms of acting.
Another thing I repeatedly shook my head over was the writing which I found more than impressive, I found it near miraculous with the kind of dialog and story I'm sure most actors would murder to get their hands on. There's no doubt in my mind this is easily the best writing I've encountered all year.
But for me the key to the whole thing is Kyle played by Alex Shaffer. A skilled actor could, on a good day, perhaps match Giamatti for pure humanity and pathos, but Kyle's role is a little too unique to easily recast. This Kyle is the engine that moves most of the movie, in my opinion. I'm thinking that his role works as a kind of psychological pivot which allows the rest of the cast to do its job. But that's not to take anything away from Mr Shaffer who gives one of the most memorable performances I've ever seen by someone his age. For me this kid deserves high praise and I can only hope I'm not alone.