Win Win = Win

Win Win is a fun dramedy starting Paul Giamatti (Sideways, The Illulsionist), Amy Ryan (The Office, Gone Baby Gone), and new comer Alex Shaffer.  The movie follows the story of Mike Flaherty (Giamatti), a struggling lawyer trying to support his family who ends up caring for the grandson of one of his clients.  The burden that Kyle (Shaffer) amounts to is somewhat lessened by the fact that he quickly puts an end to the losing streak of the high school wrestling team that Mike coaches.  As Kyle's life becomes more entwined with his, Mike begins to change his outlook on life and starts doing whatever it takes to care for his family.

The story is pretty straight forward; no big complications or twists in the plot, but it's charming and endearing.  The characters are real and believable and the movie does a good job of making you root for them and want want them to succeed.  I even found myself liking the character of Kyle (which, considering his age, is a pretty unexpected occurrence...)  One thing I should mention is that it's highly character driven so if you're the type that requires actions, suspense, or a deep plot to keep you interested, it may not be for you.

The cast is solid with great performances by Giamatti, Ryan, and a surprising breakout performance by Shaffer.  At times I found Kyle to be a little flat, but I had a hard time determining if he was intentionally written and directed to be this way or if it was a result of the actor's relative lack of experience.  Melanie Lynskey who portrays Kyle's drug addict mother also gave a great performance, not at all your typical one dimensional pathetic druggie type.