Ben Kalman (Michael Douglas) is a washed-up used car salesman who uses his sleaze bag skills to score nineteen year old girls. Yet somehow, the writing and acting is so brilliant, Douglas (as only Douglas can do) is a likable, dirty, old man. His ex wife (Susan Sarandon) tolerates him with a great dose of sympathy and sarcasm, as does his married daughter, Susan (Jenna Porter) with a mixed bag of caretaker and frustration. Even her son isn’t allowed to call Ben “Grandpa” except in private. But when Ben’s girlfriend (Mary Louise Parker) asks him to escort her daughter, Allyson (Imogen Poots) to Boston College, he’s anxious to relive his alma mater, reminding us all that if we knew then what we know now, we’d have saved ourselves a lot of heart ache. Through the eyes of anxious college student, Daniel (Jesse Eisenberg) Ben offers advice on how to score girls, land at all the good parties and pass your finals. And so comes a brilliant tale with over-the-top character development of a man coming to terms with turning sixty and popping aspirin to prevent heartattack. Paralleling all the swirling storylines is one more of his college best friend, Jimmy (Danny DeVito) who took the tortoise approach to Douglas’s hare style life and ran a local diner where he still remains. Happy. Brian Koppelman should be commended for his writing and directing skills in a small film that is reminiscent of both the quality and honest complexities that classics like The Squid and the Whale delivered. This movie is so much Michael Douglas – a reminder of one of the most talented men in the business. The best film he’s done since Wonderboys, and clearly the first in the Oscar contender performances of the year… Michael Douglas still wears the crown. Four tiaras
