WIN-WIN, R ( 1 hr & 46 min )

where:  CINE-ARTS @ PLEASANT HILL in Pleasant Hill, CA
when:   Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
show:  9:55 p.m.
costs:  $10.25 Ticket + $4.00 small Coke Zero + $2.60 bulk Chocolate Candy + $1.59 Blueberry Muffin + $5.00 Benicia Bridge Toll = $23.44
auditorium:  2
seat:  5th row, Right Section, 2nd column

synopsis/overview:  A financially-strapped lawyer, Mike Flaherty ( Paul Giamatti ), wanting to make ends meet, finagles a shady business deal which unexpectedly comes with a side benefit:  A wrestling phenom, Kyle ( Alex Shaffer ), who can be of great benefit to the struggling local high school wrestling team that he coaches.
 

noteworthy scenes:  1.) Running; 2.) "Six grand"; 3.) Cat; 4.) State; 5.) "He's loaded"; 6.) "Take my picture"; 7.) "I'm gonna warm you up"; 8.) Stress; 9.) "Slow month"; 10.) Guardian; 11.) The grandson, Kyle; 12.) "Early stages of  dementia"; 13.) "You shouldn't be smoking"; 14.) "I'm not taking chances with Eminem down there"; 15.) New Providence Police Department; 16.) "She could have called, right"; 17.) "I want to go to Ohio and beat the crap out of  her"; 18.) Convict; 19.) "Holy sh-t"; 20.) Coach's office; 21.) "I don't think we can teach him anything"; 22.) '"Kid's got man-strength"; 23.) Assistant coach; 24.) Incoming call; 25.) "Is he gonna do that every morning"; 26.) "Can you give me a slap"; 27.) "Whatever the f-ck it takes"; 28.) "She's the boss here"; 29.) "If you can read this, you're pinned"; 30.) "Why did daddy slap Kyle"; 31.) Jon Bon Jovi; 32.) "I feel the force"; 33.) "Holy sh-t, it's Darth Vader"; 34.) Mother; 35.) Unsportsmanlike conduct; 36.) "I want that commission"; 37.) "We were right there, Mike.  Now, we have nothing"; 38.) Court transcript; 39.) "Folks, keep an eye on each other"; 40.) "Super spooky"; 41.) "You're just like her"; 42.) "Did you say this to the judge"; 43.) "I'm just the ref"; 44.) "Did your mom just crank-call you"; 45.) "I'm glad you're honest now"; 46.) Dining table; 47.) "Just notice who isn't here"; 48.) "Is your deal still available"; and 49.) Barkeep.

audience reaction:  N/A.  There was only one other person in the auditorium with me.  And I didn't hear a peep from him.

recommendation:  I really enjoyed this movie.  Go see it.

spoiler alert!  Mike's wrestling team practiced like it was their first  day of  training every day.  Those wrestling shoes given to Kyle were brand-spankin' new.  You don't wrestle in matches wearing a pair of  brand new shoes because they are very tight and uncomfortable if not properly broken-in first ( I should know ).  In other words, those uncomfortable shoes would be too distracting to concentrate on the match at hand.  Why would you get down on your knees to use a toilet plunger?  You're not getting enough leverage and force when you do it that way, and you could end-up getting all wet from the splash.  Couldn't he afford to buy a plumber's snake for the clogged-up toilet?  That portable TV looked too old to be able to receive digital broadcasts which are  what TV stations are transmitting now.

fyi:  I remember my first practice wrestling match.  The practice room was very warm and smelled of sweat.  After the match, I was so revulsed by the sweaty smell that I ran out the door, leaned over the banister and vomited.   I won that match, by the way.

But a year before the above-mentioned practice match, when I was a junior in high school, I stopped-in to check-out the wrestling team.  One of my classmates was on the team, and he asked me if I would like to give it a try.  So, there I was in my street clothes without any idea of what I was about to get myself into.  ( I remember the pants that I wore that time: brown polyester. )  At "Go!" he quickly dove for my legs; I got out of  it somehow, only to be flipped in the air.  And as I was in mid-air, I farted!  Whoopsie!  But the team was kind enough to not make fun of  my uncontained "expression."  In my defense, though, I didn't smell a thing!  I was too embarrassed to smell it, I guess.

There was a reason why I joined the wrestling team in my senior year.  But that story  is not in any way related to the context of  this movie's subject so it will have to wait for another time.

The "If  you can read this, you're pinned" sign was already around back  when I wrestled in high school--and it has  probably been around longer than wrestlers care to remember.  I really think that they should ban the use of the sign because it only serves as a distraction to get a wrestler unfairly pinned.  Another thing that they should ban, and which was not shown in this movie, are the lucky charms or dolls that a rival team would put at the edge of the mat to get an opponent distracted!

Kyle's mom, Cindy ( Melanie Lynskey ), is hot.

word of advice:  Show professionalism and act responsibly in your business affairs.

Nobody loses in a "Win-Win" situation.

tidbits:  So, I swung by the Benicia, CA, Chevron gas station, again, to get gas and to get some freebies.  But they had a new clerk.  I ended-up paying $1.59 for a Blueberry Muffin.  I'd better get the work schedule of  the other clerk if I want to keep getting free food and free snacks!

I told the theatre concessions clerk, Nicole, about my movie blogsite.  And I gave her one of my cards.  I hope that she doesn't tell her manager to keep an eye-out for me because I smuggle food in whenever possible.

At 1:22 a.m. of  the following day, Thursday, I put-up my avatar for my blogsite: A mustachioed Fred Flintstone.  Why Fred Flintstone, you ask?  Because back when we were young, my eldest sister ( Yeah, the one in Michigan ) used to tease me about  my supposed resemblance to Fred Flintstone.  Ha, ha, ha.  Very funny--not!

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