Alfred Hitchcock said: "What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out." The works I appreciate most are those that get life right, the average Joe struggling to lead a good life in a world where temptation lurks at every turn. Most major American films are not interested in this. There are exceptions, of course. Win Win (2011) is one of them. I caught up to it last night courtesy of Netflix. It is the story of a small town lawyer who moonlights as a high school wrestling coach. His practice is suffering, his clients few. His family's bills are piling up. He does something unethical to make ends meet. No actor is more adept at capturing the average Joe than Paul Giamatti, and in this film he is supported by several TV, movie and Broadway stalwarts: Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavalle, Jeffery Tambor and Burt Young. It does have one Hollywood-like aspect - a talented wrestler who falls into the coach's lap, but the script does not go the way of Rocky (1976) or The Karate Kid (1984). It is much more grounded and real. It was directed by Thomas McCarthy, who also wrote the screenplay. It was his third film. I did not enjoy his first, the critically acclaimed The Station Agent (2003). I liked his second, The Visitor (2007), although not nearly as much as I did Win Win. All three focus on human beings, not spectacular events, and for that he is to be applauded. On a scale of five, four. The folks at IMDb were a little less enthusiastic, rating it 7.3 out of ten.
Although sales have been rare on Bay Parkway on Sundays, as opposed to Saturdays for some bizarre reason, I returned today, box full of videotapes in tow, which I wanted to give Bad News Billy as thanks for taking a shot on Killing. He is one of the hold-outs still using VHS. He did not show, but others did. My thanks to Blanca and Joann, who each bought a copy of Killing, and to the other kind folks who bought books. And special thanks to Billy. If not for his kindness, I would have gone elsewhere today and missed out on those sales. "Karma, Kramer."
Visit Vic’s sites:
Vic’s Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic’s Website: http://membershttp://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic’s Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic’s 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic’s 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic’s Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f
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