Solitary Man

Directors: Brian Koppelman and David Levien
Starring: Michael Douglas, Mary-Louise Parker, Jenna Fischer, Jesse Eisenberg, Imogen Poots, Susan Sarandon, Danny DeVito, Olivia Thirlby
Running Time: 90 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

It's almost impossible to watch the dark comedy, Solitary Man without viewing it as a biographical account of star Michael Douglas' life, or at least what the public has been led to believe his life is, regardless of whether that assumption is true. You may as well as well title the movie, This is Your Life, Michael Douglas since the events that occur in it bear such an eerie resemblance to past and current headlines surrounding the actor. But focusing exclusively on that would be ignoring the fact that he's long been one of our most under-appreciated actors, only further proving it here with his best performance in years.

In kind of a cross between his slick tycoon Gordon Gekko in Wall Street and disheveled literary failure Grady Tripp in Wonder Boys, this might be his slimiest role yet, as a good portion of the movie is a creep fest featuring Douglas' character engaging in behavior that will be off-putting (to say the least) for viewers. The film's main asset is not shying away from that by presenting an unflinching story about a man with a serious problem that won't go away until he wants it to. While it's a small-scale, modest achievement that doesn't do anything special, it doesn't need to because the lead refuses to plead for sympathy with his portrayal and the filmmakers surround him with an all-star cast, while balancing some tricky material.

Douglas is formerly successful car dealer Ben Kalmen, whose life took a turn for the worse after finding out he could have a heart ailment, made questionable business decisions that lost him his fortune and romantic indiscretions led to the collapse of his marriage to wife Nancy (Susan Sarandon). Now, six years later, he's still feeling the repercussions, as his daughter Susan (Jenna Fischer) wants nothing to do with him until he starts acting his age and stops chasing younger women. Ben's rare shot at selflessness comes when he's roped into accompanying his girlfriend Jordan's (Mary Louise Parker) 18-year-old daughter Allyson (Imogen Poots) on a college interview at his alma mater where he was an important financial donor. Instead, his behavior escalates to even more embarrassing levels on the trip, resulting in a one-night stand with Allyson that might be the creepiest hook-up this side of Lolita. Even his misguided attempts to mentor shy, nerdy student Daniel (played by Jesse Eisenberg) go haywire and the campus visit somehow finds Ben in worse shape than when he left. At a crossroads, he has to decide which direction he'll go.

Playing an aging lothario is nothing new for Douglas but most of the big studio movies he stars in lack the self-awareness he has in playing it, which hurts him as an actor by falsely perpetuating the unfair myth that it's the only part he's capable of playing. Writer (and Co-Director) Brian Koppelman's script share that awareness, fully acknowledging a 60-year-old man scouring a college campus for some action is not okay and extremely creepy. And so does every character except Ben. It always seems that smaller, more character driven films like this are better suited to tap into Douglas' overlooked strengths as a performer, playing a man who's coasts on his charm until it completely runs its course. Faced with his own mortality, Ben chooses not to face it and act out in humiliating ways, yet the actor still manages to make Ben charming and likable enough to root for despite all his character faults.

The film returns Douglas to the academic setting that resulted in his greatest performance a decade ago, but this time under very different circumstances and as half of what should be a dream team pairing with Eisenberg. Just the idea of Douglas prowling dormitory halls with Eisenberg while giving him unsolicited advice on how to pick up girls is alone worth the price of a DVD rental. Had their scenes together comprised the entire movie I wouldn't have complained, but it's just a small part of a bigger picture. The ads and trailers practically imply a buddy comedy with the two but Eisenberg's role, while mildly important, is essentially a thinly drawn cameo variation on his sensitive, geeky characters from Adventureland and Zombieland, but in a lower key. The supporting star is British actress Imogen Poots (what a name), who in addition to flawlessly pulling off an American accent, navigates a tough, complex role in Allyson, the quasi-love interest of Ben who's conniving and damaged enough to meet him at his level even though she's young enough to be his granddaughter. The cast is loaded with familiar faces fighting for screen time but all are incorporated well and make big impressions with what they're given, especially Mary Louise Parker as Ben's scorned girlfriend and Olivia Thirlby who appears late in the film as Daniel's love interest. There's also a nice sub-plot with Danny DeVito, who plays an old college buddy of Ben's, which takes on an extra layer when you consider Douglas' real-life friendship with the actor.

As obvious as it is to point out, the movie's title couldn't be more appropriate for a story centering on a protagonist who's become an island unto himself, pushing away anyone willing to help. Thankfully, the script stays consistent to the end, avoiding any kind of force-fed redemption or easy resolution that would feel like an unearned cheat or betrayal of the film's themes. Outside of Douglas' performance, it doesn't stand out from other efforts in this genre, coming off as neither memorable nor completely forgettable, but it intelligently deals with a lot of issues that had to hit close to home for him, and us. Calling Solitary Man a small character piece may seem condescending, if that wasn't exactly what it is. It's a well written drama about real people struggling with real problems, and it never hurts to see more of those.

Blades of Glory

Directors: Josh Gordon and Will Speck
Starring: Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Jenna Fischer, William Fichtner, Craig T. Nelson \
Running Time: 93 min.
Rating: PG-13

*** (out of ****)

Blades of Glory is a one-joke movie. Fortunately, that one joke happens to be very funny. Helping further is that the film takes a swipe at a sport long overdue for ridicule in a feature film. The biggest mystery coming out of the movie is how we went so long without a comedy mocking professional figure skating. If you think about it, could there be a goofier sport? With its outrageous costumes, bizarre personalities and ridiculous choreography it's almost too easy. How do you mock a sport that's a mockery in and of itself? It's simple. You hire Will Ferrell, maybe the only comedic actor alive capable of making figure skating look even sillier than it actually is. Then you pair him up with Jon Heder, who has the market cornered on playing wusses. Throw in Will Arnett as a crazed rival and add that guy who was on Coach to play…a coach. The end result is a comedy that's a lot better than it should be and much of the credit for that can go to the actors, who look like they're having the time of their lives. After a solid set-up, the movie really starts to find its groove and milks just about every laugh it can from its one-joke premise, resulting in a really good time all-around.

It's the 2002 World WinterSport Games and the top two men's singles figure skaters are going for the gold. One is a testosterone-fueled brute named Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell), who's nickname is "sex on ice,' a reputation only bolstered by the fact that he really is a sex addict and not shy about saying it. His arch-rival, James MacElroy (Heder) is figure skating's golden boy, groomed for greatness from a very young age by an eccentric billionaire (played by William Fichtner). That MacElroy actually stands out as too girlish and effeminate in the world of male figure skating could be viewed as an accomplishment far more remarkable than any medal victory.

The two end up tying, which leads to a funny brawl on the podium and a lifetime professional skating suspension for both. Three years later Jimmy is working at a skate shop, while Chazz (in a very funny series of scenes) is working in costume at a kid's ice show completely drunk. Jimmy soon finds out about a loophole that would allow him to compete in pairs skating and his old coach (Coach's Craig T. Nelson) convinces Jimmy and Chazz to team up. Their competition: The incestuous brother-sister duo of Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg (played by real life husband and wife Will Arnett and Amy Poehler). They blackmail their sister/assistant/slave Katie (Jenna Fischer) into spying on the duo, but soon she finds herself falling for Jimmy and comedic complications arise from that, threatening the partnership of Jimmy and Chazz heading into "big competition." Also hanging over their head is the pressure from their Coach to perform a complicated and deadly maneuver known as the "Iron Lotus," which we learn from hilarious video footage once resulted in the decapitation of a pro skater.

One of the first things I noticed about Blades of Glory was how much work must have gone into making it. Figure skating may look silly but there's no denying it's extremely difficult. Sure the actors had stuntmen there to perform the more complicated maneuvers, but they all had to learn to not only skate, but skate very well. If none of these stars looked like they could skate professionally the comedy wouldn't work. To their credit, Ferrell, Heder, Arnett and Poehler never look awkward on the ice or like they're actors "trying to skate." I'm not sure how much visual effects played a role in this and I don't care because at least the action scenes looked real, which is more than you can say for a whole lot of other sports movies. Since everything looks believable that just makes the inherent goofiness in the premise that much funnier.

Of course, they couldn't have a figure skating movie without a bunch of cameos from professional skaters like Nancy Kerrigan, Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano and Dorothy Hamill. Nor could they make it through the entire length of the film without inserting a joke about clubbing someone in the knee. Really, it was too easy for them. Not to feel left out, Luke Wilson appears briefly as a sex addiction counselor. His appearance is so random and unnecessary that it's actually somewhat funny.

The teaming of Ferrell's macho character and Heder's girly one not only gives the writers a chance to slide in gay jokes, but allows Ferrell to go over-the-top in his attempts to shock. Ferrell's antics should seem beyond tired by now but for some reason they're not. The sight of him as a womanizing, sex addicted professional figure skater is a cheap, easy laugh but Ferrell, not known for his restraint, gives us exactly what we'd expect and it's still hilarious. This is about the third or fourth film in a row Jon Heder has just played a variation on his Napoleon Dynamite character. Until he tries something different I'll have to assume he isn't capable of anything else, but here he adds a girly twist and his contrast with Ferrell makes the film, which was obviously the intent behind the casting.

I'm convinced Craig T. Nelson was only cast as an inside joke because of his onscreen television coaching experience. It's funny (even if he doesn't really do anything), but not as funny as, say, Judge Reinhold playing Judge Reinhold in a mock trial on Arrested Development. If any fans of The Office are interested in seeing this because Jenna Fischer's in it they'll be disappointed because her role is woefully underwritten. That's a silly complaint though since in a comedy like this it's a given she'll just be a plot device, which she is and that's fine. The sub-plot works for what it is. Still, as someone who's never seen The Office and was curious why everyone's been raving about her, I was hoping to see at least a glimpse of what she could do as actress. I didn't. It just wasn't that kind of part.

When I reviewed Hot Rod I complained that the film underused the comedic genius of Will Arnett. Here he's utilized far better and is given a chance to show us what he's got, especially in a gut-busting chase sequence late in the film that reminds us how impossible it is to walk, much less run, in ice skates. Arnett and Poehler do nearly steal the film from under their co-stars with their inspired weirdness, which is never clearer than during their bizarre interpretive ice routine of Presidential history toward the conclusion.

There are no less than four writers credited on this, which is surprising since it's far from the highest concept comedy, but they somehow pulled it together. Interestingly, there's also a story credit given to Busy Phillips, who you might remember as a television actress from shows like Freaks and Geeks and Dawson's Creek. It's pretty funny to think she's been spending her free time coming up with the idea for this movie. While hardly groundbreaking or revolutionary, she at least deserves the credit for realizing this would work, something clueless Hollywood studios apparently couldn't for years. In their defense they were probably too busy planning a remake of Citizen Kane or a prequel to Jaws.

Anyone going into this expecting shocks and surprises won't get any. What you will get is a lot of laughs and some entertaining performances. I wouldn't have lost any sleep if I never saw it but it's fair to say what it does for (or maybe to) figure skating is no better or worse than what Talladega Nights did for NASCAR. If you liked that, you'll like this. Blades of Glory is no Superbad, or even Hot Rod, and you'll likely forget about it five minutes after the final credits role, but it does continue the 2007 streak of winning comedies.