"Win Win" a winner!

Win Win

2011

If you don’t know Thomas McCarthy, allow me to introduce you to one of the best writer/directors of the last decade. In between his first feature, “The Station Agent” (2003), followed by the equally charming and insightful film, “The Visitor” (2007), McCarthy spends time as a working actor whose face you may have difficulty putting to the name. No matter.

It’s been four years since his last feature and McCarthy’s work once again graces the screen. “Win Win” is a grown-up movie about a sad high school wrestling team coached by Mike (Paul Giamatti). Actually, the coach is sad, too because his law practice is floundering, his wife is busy with his two young daughters, and there’s not enough money coming in to repair things like basic utilities or pay essential bills like health insurance.

Mike’s legal client, Leo (Burt Young) is suffering from early onset dementia, so Mike decides to assume guardianship to help with his non-existent cash flow. When Leo’s teenage grandson arrives on the doorstep, Mike’s fortunes change. The boy, at first non-communicative, turns out to be a champion wrestler and the plot thickens.

McCarthy has assembled an excellent supporting cast. Along with Young, Bobby Cannavale and Jeffrey Tambor round out the “coaching” staff and Amy Ryan (Academy Award nominee for her stellar work in “Gone Baby Gone”) plays Mike’s tough New Jersey wife with a heart of gold. Almost stealing the picture is Alex Shaffer making his film debut as the young wrestler with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“Win Win” is exactly that; a funny, thoughtful romp in the lives of a mélange of characters who are brought to life by an excellent cast an, oh, yes, writer/director Tom McCarthy, a name to remember.

Rebecca Redshaw is an author and playwright who worked for 25 years in the film industry in Los Angeles. Copies of her book, SOFA CINEMA: An Easy Guide to DVDs may be purchased at Amazon.com or through her website, www.rebeccaredshaw.com. She can be reached at r2redshaw@hotmail.com.