With America in decline, Africa in turmoil, and our close ally Japan in triplicate disaster, a feel-good movie about mutual risk for mutual reward would hit the spot. Unfortunately, Win Win is not quite that movie. Though it tries, in a tale about a wayward teen wrestler (Alex Shaffer) who escapes his alcoholic mother and the economically depressed lawyer who takes him in (Paul Giamatti), Win Win lingers too long in the middle, shifts, and never quite pins a point. It is clear from the beginning that everyone in this melancholy movie is down on his luck: the kid, the lawyer, his wife (Amy Ryan), his best friend (Bobby Cannavale), his partner, (Jeffrey Tambor), his client (Burt Young), whose declining mental state triggers the plot line, and his neglected young daughter (Clare Foley) who talks like a truck driver which no one seems to notice. An unseen baby among others is along for the ride, which promises to get going when the teen’s abusive mother shows up in town after he’s made an impression on the family, the wrestling team, and the lawyer, who gets back in the game of life. I would not have minded the cliche, adorned with dysfunctional accessories from Little Miss Sunshine and wrapped in the economic malaise of The Company Men, if Win Win, which features solid performances, had something more winning to say. But the trying too hard and playing too broad sap the film’s energy and miniaturize the payoff when we need it most. While Win Win scores, and wins, it feels more like a tie.
