The 2011 comedy drama “Win Win” from Fox Searchlight Pictures was written and directed by Thomas MCCarthy based on the story by Joe Tiboni. Starring: Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale, Alex Shaffer, Marcia Haufrecht, Melanie Lynskey and Jeffrey Tambor.
Career-wise, things are not going very well for attorney Mike Flaherty (Paul Giamatti); he has to moonlight as the coach of a high school wretling team just to make ends meet and the team was hopeless. But this still isn’t generating enough income. But Mike thought it would be a “win win” situation for everyone when the Court deemed Leo Poplar (Burt Young), his client incompenent and appointed him guardian. With the compensation for these duties, he might have a fighting chance to manage the bills and fix the things that keep breaking down.
Family life was good with his wife Jackie (Amy Ryan) and their daughter Gina (Marcia Haufrecht) helped to keep things in perspective. But the stress was beginning to be a problem.
Mike’s doctor tells him to start jogging to help manage tension, unfortunately it’s been quite a while since Mike exercised. One morning Mike and his colleague Terry Delfino (Bobby Cannavale) are out on the track and Mike collapses from exhaustion. Terry panics, and the next thing you know the paramedics are on the scene treating him for heart attack symptoms.
But Mike was totally unaware that his ward, Mr. Poplar had living relatives. When Kyle (Alex Shaffer) shows up on Mike’s doorstep claiming to be the grandson of Mr. Popular, thing get complicated on the home scene. After hearing Kyle’s story, Mike and Jackie agree to allow Kyle to stay with his grandfather but insisted that Kyle enroll in the school where Mike as the coach.
Since the wrestling team wasn’t doing well, Mike thought having a new member might give the team some motivation. When Kyle was interviewed for the team he stated he had some wrestling experience, but in fact Kyle had a natural talent and ability for the sport. After seeing Kyle win all of the bouts, the coaching staff agreed that Kyle’s skills would give the team a chance to go to the Championship competition.
Just as Kyle has settled into being a member of the team, his mother arrives demanding that Kyle return with her to their home in Ohio. Now Mike is in the middle of a custody issue that is much bigger than his guardianship responsibilities. Mike and Jackie decided to stand up for Kyle’s right to choose his own life, even if it meant a legal battle in court.
