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Win Win
When down-on-his-luck part-time high school wrestling coach Mike agrees to become legal guardian to an elderly man, his ward's troubled grandson turns out to be a star grappler, sparking dreams of a big win -- until the boy's mother retrieves him.
2011 · Directed by Tom McCarthy · 106 min · Drama · Comedy · Screenplay in the scene database · 3 frames
Tagline
In the game of life, you can't lose 'em all.
Plot
Small-town New Providence, New Jersey, attorney Mike Flaherty moonlights as a wrestling coach and struggles to keep his practice solvent, while shielding his wife Jackie and their two young girls, Abby and Stella, from the extent of the problem. When his court-appointed client, Leo Poplar, who is suffering from early dementia, turns out to have no locatable relatives, he persuades a judge to appoint him as guardian, for which he will receive a stipend of $1,508 per month. Mike, however, has no intention of taking care of Leo and moves him to a senior care facility while he continues to get paid for guardianship.
When Leo's teenage grandson, Kyle, shows up from Columbus, Ohio, looking to live with him, Mike and Jackie let him stay with them instead. Kyle tries to break into Leo's old house, and when Mike and Jackie question him about it, he reveals his troubled family life: His mom is in rehab, she lives with her boyfriend, and he does not want to go back. Upon hearing this, Jackie refuses to allow Kyle to return home and lets him stay in their household. After Kyle sits in on practice, they discover that he is a talented wrestler and enroll him at Mike's high school, where he can resume his education and wrestle on Mike's losing team, helping to make them viable contenders in their league.
This "everyone benefits" setup is disrupted when Kyle's mother Cindy shows up, fresh out of rehab. Cindy attempts to gain custody of her father and her son, and with them her father's substantial estate. However, Mike explains to Cindy and her lawyer that Leo had disinherited her from his will, causing her to become furious. Later, Cindy calls Kyle to her hotel room to show him court documents proving that Mike has been taking advantage of his arrangement with Leo. Kyle reacts violently towards his mother before running away.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Screenplay: Tom McCarthy
- Cinematography: Oliver Bokelberg
- Edited by: Tom McArdle
- Music: Lyle Workman
- Production design: John Paino
- Produced by: Mary Jane Skalski, Michael London, Tom McCarthy, Lisa Maria Falcone
Cast
- Paul Giamatti as Mike Flaherty
- Amy Ryan as Jackie Flaherty
- Bobby Cannavale as Terry Delfino
- Jeffrey Tambor as Vigman
- Burt Young as Leo Poplar
- Melanie Lynskey as Cindy Timmons
- Alex Shaffer as Kyle
- Margo Martindale as Eleanor
- David Thompson as Stemler
- Nina Arianda as Shelly
Production
- Country: United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: Next Wednesday Productions, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Everest Entertainment, Groundswell Productions
- Budget: $10,831,173
- Box office: $10,654,385
- Themes: new jersey, sports, coach, lawyer, wrestling coach
More by Tom McCarthy
On this film
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