Actually more of a compromise

Rating: 6/10 (5 September 2011)

Slice of life drama-dies like Win Win are some of the hardest films to pull off. You're not giving the audience anything wham-bam like a murder, significant traumatic experience, etc. to hang off of. You have to take your time with the set-up and just trust that the inherent humanity and chops of the actors will get you through.
Win Win has a lot of both of these qualities. The casting couldn't be more spot on with regards to the leads. I mean, is there anyone more adept at portraying tragically flawed heroes than Paul Giamatti? Add Amy Ryan's frank unvarnished honesty and newcomer Alex Shaffer's impressive, emotionally bruised performance and you can't possibly go wrong, right?
Well, as much as I eventually liked Win Win, it was a long haul into involvementville for me, and it took me a while to figure out why I took one step back for every two steps forward.
Giamatti is a nearly bankrupt lawyer who takes on guardianship of a dementia-destined senior (a fine Burt Young) with a lot of cash, mainly to get his hands on some of it to save his family and practice. With the bargain, he inadvertently gains custody of the man's grandson, Kyle (Shaffer), who's estranged from his mess of a mother (the always superb Melanie Lynsky). The real bonus, though, comes in the form of Kyle's wrestling prowess, which serves as a catalyst for Giamatti (who also moonlights conveniently as a wrestling coach) to turn his life around, at any cost.
This is inspiring stuff, but unfortunately I found it to be laden down with what I call "ringers" --- standard studio plot devices we've seen a million times before that should be amusing and funny, but which only feel tired. The most obvious is the side detour for about ten minutes where Shaffer's character encourages another less athletic student, played by David Thompson, to go for it in a match. This is played out in a very absent, predictable manner that winds up looking frivolous at best and ridiculous at worst.
But the really big blunder is the continuing chapter in what I think is The Bobby Cannavale Problem. Since about the time of The Station Agent, where Cannavale played a somewhat substantial character, he seems destined for the part of the Daffy Sidekick. He literally seems to show up in dozens of movies with next to nothing to do, and almost no character to play. It's like he's the free soda with our movie happy meal, and almost as needed or memorable. Tom McCarthy's script has given him what can only be termed a tour de force in this type of McRole...there is almost no real explanation for his being present in almost any scene...but he's always there, mugging, pitching for camera time. It's got to be one of the most annoying supporting performances in recent memory. Almost by cruel coincidence, Jeffrey Tambor occupies a similar role, but the difference is....Tambor is an expert at comic timing.
I suspect McCarthy's script was "doctored" or at least advised to undergo some changes to make it more commercially appealing. It reeks of Hollywood's "idea" of What the People Want...the sugar to make the cough syrup go down faster.
That's too bad, because there's a lot of good work here. I would definitely recommend this film, but look for it on the human level, not the canned-laugh drive-thru.