Paul Giamatti’s done it again. Straight off of winning a Golden Globe for his role in Barney’s Version, this time he tackles the life of Mike Flaherty, a struggling, suburban attorney and father of two small girls. His life is full of problems he can’t fix because he can’t afford them….the plumbing is broken, a tree might drop on the house, and the basement furnace needs replacing. Until one day he’s challenged by what’s morally right vs. wrong, but Giamatti does the wrong thing when he takes on the guardianship of an elderly man (Burt Young) which will give him a stipend of $1,500 a month. But instead of caring for the elderly man with dementia, Giamatti drops him off at a retirement home. It seems like a win, win situation until his long lost grandson (newcomer Alex Shaffer) shows up. This is probably a good time to mention that Giamatti is a volunteer wrestling coach at the local high school where his pal (Jeffrey Tambor) runs the department. It’s also a good time to mention that when the teenager shows up at his front door, he just happens to be a state champion wrestler. Another win/win? We can all relate to the woes of the average family in such financially stressful time. But let’s face it, we’re never madly in love with Giamatti. He’s a bit of a curmudgeon, and he seems to always play the character that we love to hate. It’s not doubt Fox pictures had hoped to have another Little Miss Sunshine on its hands, but the problem is while the film does exhibit very quirky characters, they just accidentally fall into place for no apparent reason, whereas in Sunshine they all meshed and cavorted with perfect sense. Two Tiaras
