We start out on Michael Douglas' side. This guy has been around most of our lives ("Romancing the Stone," "Streets of San Francisco," "Wall Street" and "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past") and we WANT to like him. Imagine our dismay when, with every scene, his character sinks lower and lower until we do a collective groan as he hits bottom. This is NOT a likeable man and he rarely thinks with his "big head." He might love his family, but he loves himself far more.
This character is a rags-to-riches guy, worked his way through college, eventually became a multi-millionaire with car dealerships all over the northeast. Then he got this bright idea...and ended up with a front page scandal and a ruined reputation. Problem is, he still thinks he belongs on the cover of Forbes...with a new nymphet in his bed each night.
Here are some of the exasperated people he alienates:
- Susan Sarandon ("The Lovely Bones") plays his first wife, dumped, but who landed on her feet;
- Jenna Fischer ("The Office") preaches fiscal responsibility to her spendthrift dad;
- Mary-Louise Parker ("Weeds") is stunned by his immorality...but not for long. Hell hath no fury...
- Danny DeVito ("House Broken") runs a deli; he's the closest thing to a genuine friend our hero may ever have.
There are so many cringe-worthy moments we start to root against him; we watch him suffer from his self-inflicted wounds, oblivious to the implications of his actions. It takes a couple of smart young women to voice our outrage and we applaud when they do!
There are too many "Ick" moments; I wonder if this movie will find an audience....
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