Oh, it’s the age old question of man… Do you become a proper gentleman, or do you indulge your perversion?

Louis Ives (Paul Dano) is a proper gentleman in a very modern world. He enjoys dressing well, reading a good book, and the fantasy of one day courting a lady. He also has a hidden fascination with wearing womens’ lingerie, which, after getting caught with a bra on, lands him without a job. He decides to take this opportunity to follow a dream of his… to travel to New York to pursue writing. This is where he meets Henry Harrison (Kevin Kline), a gentleman of sorts who speaks ill of women and is very set on his peculiar ways. Henry has a room for rent, and Louis needs a place to stay. Problem solved.

Things start to look up for young Louis when he lands his first New York job, in the sales department at a magazine for activists. This is where he meets Mary (Katie Holmes). He instantly falls for her, but she does not feel the same about him at all. Luckily, Henry has a solution for Louis’ love problems. See, Henry is an “extra man”, that is, a gentleman that accompanies rich, older ladies to various dinners. He is sort of a male escort, although his perks are fancy dinners, champagne and trips, rather than money. He see’s the opportunity to bring Louis along on a date, which thrills Louis. Louis finds these women fascinating, and they are drawn to him as well. Although Henry is odd, stubborn, and overall offensive, the two become friends in this very messed up story…

Where do I begin?

I could not decide when I left the theater if I enjoyed this film or not. It was unlike anything I had ever watched, but it was also rather off, and certain parts just did not flow together very well. the problem doesn’t lie with the main actors. Dano was a fantastic choice for Louis. He does a very good job of displaying his internal struggles on screen. He also plays the role of an uncertain gentlemen quite well. He is not a modern man at all, and Dano really pulls this off. Kline was such a perfect Henry. At points I found myself actually gasping at some of the offensive things that he was saying. He played his odd character very well.

One of my problems with the film were the supporting actors. Katie Holmes was just not a good Mary. I don’t know what it is, but I was not convinced of her role in the slightest. I don’t say this because her character was not always a likable one, it is more that her acting fell flat next to Kline and Dano. It also could have been how her character was written. Her whole existence, other than being a love interest that was never going to happen, made no sense. For the purpose to the story that her character served, her part was too big and too underdeveloped. John C. Reilly  has a role too, as Gershon, Henry’s friend who also lives in the building. Let me tell all you crazy kids, this pains me to say what I am about to say… I hated his character too! I have never hated Reiley in anything. His character was horrible and made no real sense. His high pitch voice sounded way to fake and forced, and his role did not fit in with the other characters as well as it should have. I think Holmes and Reilly were the victims of a great concept of a film, that didn’t follow through on developing their characters. In other words, bad writing.

I still can’t really tell you if I liked this film or not. This isn’t a thing that happens to me too much, but this film had so many different elements to like, and dislike that they have balanced my brain into a mere “Eh” stage. “Eh” I liked parts but “Eh” other parts sucked. Would I watch it again? “Eh”, maybe, if someone else really wanted to, or it happened to be on the television while I was flipping through. Everything is so torn  down the middle that I would say to wait and rent it when it comes out on dvd.

Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars