Reality with a touch of comedy is Thomas McCarthy's WIN WIN movie. Seeing Paul Giamatti's performance coaching an athlete brings back memories of Cinderella Man where he delivered a powerful supporting role that brought him numerous awards and nominations. In this film he plays the lead as Mike Flaherty, a disheartened New Jersey Lawyer struggling to keep his failing practice afloat. He moonlight's as the head coach of a high school wrestling team on a downward spiral losing match after match. Mike also volunteers to become the legal guardian of Leo Poplar(Burt Young), a senile old man suffering first stage dementia who only wants to keep living in his home, the $1508 monthly pay from the state makes this a favorable deal for Mike but won't sit well with his wife Jackie (Amy Ryan). Until a young man named Kyle (Alex Shaffer) arrives in Leo's front porch claiming to be his grandson who ran away from his drug addict mom, Cindy (Melanie Lynskey), and her abusive boyfriend. Mike decides to take Kyle in and to his surprise, the kid was a wrestling star waiting to shine. With his team winning match after match and his finances paid for with his state earnings, Mike thought he is on a roll. But things got complicated when Cindy shows up broke and tries to take Kyle away.
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