belmusica
I was interested in this film after I heard an interview with Kevin Kline from Sundance. It sounded like an interesting character study. Kevin Kline always gives his parts a lot of personality. I also wanted to see John C. Reilly, I search out his films and enjoy the creative things that he does with his parts. Unfortunately,the script was not quite up to snuff. I found the characters unlikeable. Poor J.C.R. had to resort to a silly gimmick to make his character even interesting. Mr. Kline did the best he could with a very weak script. It was obvious that he was improvising quite a lot. The younger character had a few interesting parts but overall it was very unorganized. Oh well, I watched until the end and forgot about it.
samkan
THE EXTRA MAN may be one of the slowest starting movies that you have ever watched. For at least a half-hour its two lead characters are somewhat annoying and/or obnoxious. But then something unexpected happens: The setting rises up to match the characters. The viewer begins to see the two "weirdos" in a different light. Where once you had odd-balls you now have a threesome (a late addition) who serve a purpose and draw strength from one another. Natalie Portman's character, upon introduction, is guessed to be a love interest that will transform, correct our young protagonist. But that is too easy and not what THE EXTRA MAN is about. Rather, NP's presence shows contrast yet connection to a stranger, alternate world. A comparison can be made to John Irvings books and characters, though therein the characters seem out-of-place in their setting and almost apologetic for their bizarreness. Here, the movie ends with absolutely no apologies and in the only place it could end, the milieu of NYC.The major fault of the film is that it may appear to be offered as a comedy. There are chuckles but THE EXTRA MAN is not particularly funny. The film would have been better presented as a drama. THE EXTRA MAN is most surely not mainstream material and one of those projects that is lucky to have been made. I'm still on the fence with Paul Dano. I wouldn't flunk his performance but some one more earnest; e.g., a young Andrew McCarthy, would have been a better fit.
drawsroundankles
I feel it to be my civic duty to express my opinion to spare the innocent people the agony of enduring this very forgettable train-wreck. The fact that this film was ever classified as a comedy, I will never understand, I didn't see so much as even a chuckle. It took a while , but finally Paul Glaser, Christian Ford, and Roger Soffer can pick their heads back up. This box office flop makes Kazaam look like CaddyShack. What were Sheri Springer Bernan and Robert Pulcini thinking? The entire plot of the Jonathan Ames novel is absent of any true substance. How they thought that it would ever transfer to big screen well is beyond my comprehension. The only good that may ever come from this film would be if president Obama implemented it as a prescription for insomnia sufferers, that would cut the national deficit for sure. Anyone who voluntarily associated themselves with the production of this garbage owes a sincere public apology. Redbox owes me a dollar for stocking the flop! You owe it to yourself to skip this extreme waste of time!
avafradkin
An interesting movie, full of off beat laughs and phenomenal acting by Kevin Kline and Paul Dano and John C. Reilly. Intellectually stimulating, fun, and most importantly, different than the average movie. Paul Dano is brilliantly cast as a young writer who has some confusion about his sexuality and also feels he is meant to be in another era. Kevin Kline is hilarious as an off beat character whose political and social views are quite out of the ordinary. The movie allows the audience to ponder, while not being overly ambiguous. The scene at the beach when John C. Reilly sings and Kevin Kline teaches Paul Dano to dance, is a keeper for my memory bank. "Get me off this Godforsaken beach. I need alcohol and civilization".
AD
