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Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

Every once in a blue moon a flawed, below average film can be made watchable by a singular performance so outstanding as to make it memorable. Case in point is the terrific comedic acting provided by Kevin Kline in The Extra Man.

When we first meet Louis Ives (Paul Dano, There Will Be Blood, Little Miss Sunshine) he’s a respected, soft-spoken literary instructor at a prep school in Princeton, New Jersey. Like a moth to flame, Louis is drawn to women’s underwear and his fascination for it leads to a situation so awkward that it causes him to lose his job.

After a summer of depression, Louis, who daydreams about being in F. Scott Fitzgerald novels, travels to Manhattan where he moves into the tiny apartment of eccentric playwright Henry Harrison (Kline). A sexist pig with no money, Harrison is a self-described “extra man” who provides companionship to high society widows.

While Henry takes him under his wing, Louis lands a job at an environmental magazine where he’s attracted to Mary Powell (Katie Holmes, Batman Begins, Dawson’s Creek), a vegan and perpetual protestor who likes Louis but is also made uncomfortable by him. Ultimately, the consequences of Louis’s flirtations with cross dressing, transsexuals and a domineering “spankologist” leaves him standing yet again on the edge of depression.

The good news about The Extra Man is that Kline is thoroughly brilliant and arguably delivers his best comedic performance since his Oscar-winning role in 1989’s A Fish Called Wanda. The 62-year-old St. Louis native infuses Henry with an over-the-top zeal for living life as an Upper East Side elitist. On the surface Henry is an unlikable human being, yet Kline lets enough humanity bleed through to reveal a sympathetic man tinged with sadness.

The bad news is that the rest of this film is exceedingly average. Dano is too diminutive with a performance in which Henry comes across as an unsettling creep who you would not want within 200 yards of your daughter or your wife’s closet.

Mrs. Tom Cruise, a.k.a. Katie Holmes, is one dimensional and has the emotional depth of an insect. I would also mention a small supporting role by former Oscar nominee John C. Reilly as a disheveled neighbor who sings with a Broadway voice, but like almost everything else it’s largely forgettable.

On a letter grade scale from “A” being excellent to “F” for failing, The Extra Man receives a C.

The Extra Man is rated R and has a running time of 105 minutes.

Now showing through September 30 @
Tivoli Cinemas
Westport Manor Square, 4050 Pennsylvania, KCMO
Visit www.tivolikc.com or call 913-383-7756 for more information.

By Michael D. Smith

Indie Film Editor

Michael D. Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in history at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri followed by a Master of Arts in history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Inspired by such critics as Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, Michael started reviewing films in 1992 for College of the Ozarks's student-run newspaper. After returning to the Kansas City area in 1994, he continued film reviewing by writing for the Cass County Democrat Missourian in Harrisonville.

In 2000 Michael joined Sun Publications in Overland Park, Kansas where he served as its film critic and Arts and Entertainment Editor. During his tenure there, he was also the film critic for the "Fine Arts Radio Hour" and "Celebrity Scoop" radio shows on KXTR. After leaving the Sun in late 2002, he became the A&E writer for the Olathe News in Olathe, Kansas. He also worked as a freelance writer for The Squire in Leawood, Showcase Publishing in Lake Ozark, Missouri and the Kansas City Star.

Michael is currently a member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, a professional film critic organization established in 1966 by the late Dr. James Loutzenhiser.