It is somewhat shocking to look at Paul Giamatti’s work and realize he’s only been nominated for an Oscar (Supporting Actor for Cinderalla Man in 2006) only once, where he did not win. A frequent visitor of the high-angst, slightly depressed, and/or disheveled character, Giamatti has certainly found a marketable niche as in many ways, this is a character America has grown to identity with.
Giamatti’s performance in the latest Fox Searchlight picture Win Win is “sort-of” a departure from this character, conjoining both a sense of determination and hope midst the usual anxiety. And while the film certainly revolves around Giamatti’s character Mike Flaherty, a struggling lawyer, this is very much a dysfunctional family comedy. In short, Writer/Director Thomas McCarthy brings a (seemingly) “normal” suburban family into an unlikely relationship with a run-away teenager, a drug addicted single mother, and a grandfather with dementia.
So, here’s the question. Why are we so drawn to dysfunctional families? In the last decade, we have seen similar familial situations show up in films such as Little Miss Sunshine, The Royal Tenenbaums, American Beauty, and the recent City Island. And the theme is no stranger to television either. We’ve become captivated by families such as the Bluths (Arrested Development), the Reynolds (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), the Pritchett/Dunphy combo in Modern Family, and of course, The Simpsons.
Win Win is hitting on the same realities in a different setting. It’s here that we continue to explore the questions of what it mean to be human. What does it mean to play the game of normalcy? To be scared of being known? And maybe most important, What does it take to experience love and forgiveness midst the dysfunction?
While the setting might be foreign, your identification with such realities will be quite familiar. I mean, this is why we like them… is it not?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbe33D59euY
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