Awkward, But In That Funny Kind Of Way
The Extra Man isn’t a laugh out loud comedy. It’s not a slapstick, goofy comedy either, it’s more of a quirky, awkward-moment movie with some great acting. Paul Dano stars as Louis Ives, a professor of English Lit at Princeton. He imagines himself in the 1920s, and seems to somewhat dress and act the part. Anyway, one day he manages to get himself fired after finding a woman’s bra in a schoolbag. When he’s discovered experimenting with it, he is dismissed from the university. At a crossroads in his life, he decides to move to Manhattan and explore the idea of becoming a writer, a long time dream of his. He discovers an ad in the paper with one gentleman looking for another gentleman to share an apartment with. This is where Ives meets Henry Harrison, played by Kevin Kline. Henry is an aging playwright who’s greatest piece was, apparently, stolen by his previous Swiss roommate who you will hear about from time to time in the movie. Currently, Henry is an extra man, the fellow who takes widows and elderly ladies to the opera and other such events.
Henry and Louis build an interesting friendship that helps Louis break out of his shell to ‘find himself,’ his original intention in coming to Manhattan anyway. Katie Holmes (Mary) plays a co-worker of Louis’ who he becomes interested in but their relationship isn’t a certainty.
Ultimately, The Extra Man is an interesting movie. It’s not one I see myself watching anytime soon or at all again, but it’s a captivating watch the first time through.
On Blu-ray
The image and sound quality of The Extra Man on Blu-ray are very good. Naturally, this is a ‘realistic’ film with no special effects or anything out of the ordinary, so while it might not make the best demo material for your home setup, it still does look and sound very good. Expect a crisp image with vibrant colors and a competent 5.1 DTS-HD audio track.
As for extra features, you’ll get:
-Deleted Scene (SD, 2m) – A single deleted scene.
-Cartoon Clip Voiceover Recording (40s, SD) – A picture-in-picture view of a cartoon and the voiceover recording session, very brief.
-Behind The Score Footage (8.5m, SD)
-HDNet Preview (4.5m, HD) – A short promo of the film.
-Audio commentary with Kevin Kline and Jonathan Ames
-Audio Commentary with Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini, Lisa Collins, and Crew
With that, let’s get to the summary…