Win Win (2011)
Summary
Genre: Comedy, DramaGoodies:
+ Strong acting with Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan, + Film felt true to life, + Good "indie" feel to the film, + Black humor feelBaddies:
- Heavy drama + comedy can make for conflictAfter being cut from the USA softball team and feeling a bit past her prime, Lisa finds herself evaluating her life and in the middle of a love triangle, as a corporate guy in crisis competes with her current, baseball-playing beau.
A few plot synopsis’ describe that “Win Win” is a “light” and “feel good” movie. I will agree with feel good to a degree, but it wasn’t all that light considering the moral ambiguity and the hard situation the teenager is going through. Kyle is a young boy who has essentially abandoned by his mother and finds his way into the life of a wrestling coach. The boy, who was previously a wrestler, gives the man a new sense of belonging during a crappy time in his life. I think what makes “Win Win” a true win is the acting. Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan are perfectly casted, and the young man that plays Kyle does a really great job of…. being a teenager. The movie felt believable, and I think that is why I liked it so much. Due to this raw nature, it felt very “indie” , but outside the lines of “indie poop”. I also really love the morality of the situations in the movie, they really point out that life isn’t always crystal clear and that good people sometimes make poor decisions for the right reasons. Although there are heart wrenching moments and the position of morality is often challenged, the movie has very comedic moments (almost in a black humor type of way at some points), which, due to the feeling that the movie is very realistic, is funny in the “life is kinda funny” sort of way. Again, the acting is spot on, and the characters feel like people that could be living next door to you. Overall, “Win Win” had lots of heart and was a really well played film.
