Jan Wahl Movie Review: 'Win Win' And 'Potiche'

(KCBS) - KCBS Entertainment Editor Jan Wahl reviews the film about a well intentioned attorney played by Paul Giamatti in Win Win. Plus the French film Potiche and DVDs remembering Elizabeth Taylor.

WIN WIN (PG 13)

Tom McCarthy has written and directed two remarkably charming and quirky films: The Station Agent and The Visitor. His newest is this tale of a well-intentioned attorney who specializes in the senior care (Paul Giamatti.) He's quietly terrified that he can't afford his life anymore, so he engages in fraud, though he is tortured that he will be found out. Because he has a good heart, our lawyer also coaches a team of high school wrestlers, with a new boy suddenly giving every one hope. The new boy comes with a lot of baggage. The characters are real, the story a bit slow, though Bobby Cannavale and Amy Ryan provide some needed comic relief. It's a sweet and human slice of life, a comfortable, entertaining ride.

POTICHE (TROPHY WIFE in French) (PG-13)

The great Catherine Deneuve stars in this French story set in the late 1970's. She is a wife to an umbrella factory owner, a company that her father started. She has stayed at home, raised two children and written poetry for herself. Her life of leisure and quiet boredom changes when the factory goes on strike. Her husband, a total jerk throughout the film, is forced to turn the factory over to his wife. Gerard Depardieu is a former flame helping her with the unions and workers. It takes a while for the movie to kick in, but once it does, the actors make it fun and worth the journey.

SEE RIGHT NOW: THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU, CEDAR RAPIDS, I AM, PHIL OCHS: THERE BUT FOR FORTUNE

Elizabeth Taylor DVDs: TAMING OF THE SHREW, GIANT, A PLACE IN THE SUN, WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF, THE MIRROR CRACK'D, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER

DVDS: THE TOURIST, THE FIGHTER, MORNING GORY, INSIDE JOB

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