It's like Wall Street 2, if they hadn't made Wall Street 2

Film: Solitary Man
Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5

Michael Douglas plays an intellectual miscreant better than just about anyone else. In this sharp and effective comedy-drama he takes on the role of Ben Kalmen, a once successful car dealer whose primary interest is doing things that make him feel better than anyone else. At this point in his life, that includes reliving his glory days, swindling customers, and proving his superiority of wit whenever possible. At about 60 years old, presumably trying to avoid or ignore death, Ben's life has gone downhill due to his own misbehavior. He cheats on his wife (Susan Sarandon) until she leaves him, he runs his dealership into the ground, he misses his grandson's birthday. He doesn't do these things to be mean, he just gets caught up in how much he likes himself.

We meet Ben at a point in his life where he is using his current girlfriend Jordan (Mary-Louise Parker) to gain the support of her father and close an important business deal. He meets his match in Jordan's daughter Allyson (Imogen Poots) when he escorts her to her college interview at his alma mater. In some of the most well-written scenes in recent years, the two go head-to-head with their wits on more than one occasion, and Allyson beats Ben at his own game. Everything gets worse from there. He finds himself running out the patience of his daughter (Jenna Fischer), getting beat up by mobsters, and imparting wisdom on a geeky college student (Jesse Eisenberg) only to betray him.

It's true, the story of old-guy-fears-death-causes-trouble-learns-lesson has been used before, but Douglas and writer/co-director Brian Koppelman bring an original, charismatic spark to the film. The dialogue here is sharp, logical and entertaining, building smart and realistic characters. In a time when most comedies make no effort to have moments that are serious or clever, Solitary Man has many that are both. Whenever Ben delivers some insight or explains his philosophies, we feel the same way as his audience does: that he really knows what he's talking about, or in some cases that he really doesn't. Douglas makes Ben charming in his cynical wisdom, wily and experienced in his dishonesty, and openly solipsistic in his shallow rants. Danny DeVito snags an important supporting role as Ben's old college buddy Jimmy, who now owns a diner on the campus. Jimmy is the complete opposite of Ben; humble, inviting, caring. The soul of Solitary Man lies in Ben's attempts to understand this way of life, one that he may have approached in the past but now lives in stark contrast to.