The state is about to put one of his clients, Leo (Burt Young), a cranky old man who constantly forgets things, into a nursing home, deeming him unable to take care of himself. And since there are no living relatives Mike can track down, Mike counts the costs and decides it is a win-win situation: he becomes the legal guardian of Leo, and as a result gets a hefty paycheque of $1500 a month which he uses to buoy his business. Of course, the responsibility of taking care of the old man falls on him, but Mike happily skirts on his duties by sending his client to an elderly home, against the man`s wishes.
Mike soon finds the old man`s grandson, Kyle (newcomer Alex Shaffer), waiting for his grandfather. He and his hilariously judgmental wife Amy (Jackie Ryan) take on the thankless task of taking the boy in. When Mike eventually discovers Kyle`s talent for wrestling, he decides to use it to bring his high school wrestling team some glory.
Â
While this is originally a temporary arrangement, the family starts growing close to Kyle, and Kyle in return starts to trust Mike and Jackie. Not that he has many people he can count on: his mother is an irresponsible lady who is perpetually absent from his life.
It is a matter of time before Mike`s ethical breach comes to light, and when it does, he has to weigh what is more important to him his relationship with Kyle, or the money he gets as Leo`s guardian. Despite Mike`s ethical lapses, Giamatti maintains a fine balance between his character`s flaws and his character`s genuine altruism, and it helps make Mike more sympathetic in our eyes.
This wonderfully offbeat comedy may take some predictable plot turns, but even in those dour moments, the performance from the whole cast is so solid that every moment in the film is compelling. We almost shed a tear right at the end, despite its predictability.
Funny and poignant in equal measure, Win Win is a delight to watch.
Raymond Tan