I love this movie so much

the audience applauded

Excellent but underrated film

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

There is no doubt that we need morality plays in our lives (and this well-acted and well-staged film feels very much like a play). Furthermore, we need morality plays to be nuanced enough to not come over as sermons - if we want the latter we can go any time free of charge on a Sunday and see them done by the real experts! The problem with the nuancing in "Solitary Man" is that we get too many messages that are too mixed. We don't need a film to remind us that advancing age demands some changes of approach and behaviour, and yet on many levels Ben Kalmen played here by Michael Douglas (rather "ouch"-worthily given recent real-life news concerning the actor) proves that there CAN be many a good tune played on an old fiddle. After all, the guy proves influential enough with university-age young people to get one - a pretty sexy portrayal by Imogen Poots - into the sack, and to successfully convince another - well-acted by Jesse Eisenberg - to make a change of lifestyle that works quite spectacularly well for him. For the same reasons, these aspects at least do not convince us very effectively that being a sex addict and pretending to be eternally youthful are mistakes! There IS a comeuppance in fact, and Kalmen even gets beaten up and severely threatened for his pains, but it's not - quite - enough for we the viewers to recognise the need for a change of ways. Admittedly, addiction to sex is not Kalmen's only failing - he has also been regularly too busy for his family and (few) friends (notably a lovely guy called Jimmy Merino who Danny DeVito plays so genuinely and warmly that we feel we are encountering a different species from that represented by most other characters in the film). For Kalmen has had a single-minded addiction to business that moved (at some vital point) from genuine success to "success" built increasingly on corrupt methods. Here the film ought to have it easy, given that - while we chastise (but perhaps secretly envy) a sex addict, we all hate crooks. The snag here comes with the overwhelming impression - generated by the 50% of the film devoted to the world of business - that, "they are all at it, and Kalmen differs only in having been unlucky enough to get caught". Thus, when others in the car-dealership trade, bankers and so on turn their backs on Kalmen, we tend to feel sorry for him, and chastise those around him for their small-minded meanness, knowing that their professed interest in clean behaviour is just hypocrisy. So much, then, for this element of the morality play! However, in writing "at some vital point" in the above part of the description, I allude to what could have made the film more of a winner - the fact that Kalmen's descent into both corruption and sexual excess was not brought on by the ageing process alone, but by a more concrete aspect of that process associated with doubts about his health. This would have been something interesting to ponder on, but here the film lets us down badly, since it leaves "us out here" with Kalmen's own version of events, which is that he never wished to know - and so never did know - if he was really ill, just opting to act as if every day might be his last, without even knowing the veracity of the suspicion, given that there was no full diagnosis. A greater, clearer-messaged film than "Solitary Man" could have afforded to leave us focused on the fact that it may always be better to act as if we do not have time to spare - though the moral response to that would not be to go overboard, but rather to wise up. But as "Solitary Man" is the film it is, we viewers do need the crumb of satisfaction granted by knowing that he either was - or was not - responding to a health scare that did not even exist. As things work out, we never get to know - which looks perilously much like punishment from the makers for those who have devoted 90 minutes of their lives in the hope of this film ultimately having one really good and clear point to make...

I think that the most important thing in a movie is the screenplay, but even if it is not very good, that does not avoid me from appreciating other elements. In the case of Solitary Man, what I could appreciate were the performances, specially Michael Douglas'...and I do not even know if I am referring to his performance or to his mere presence. I do not think there is too much difference between both things in this point of his career. Sure, he is still able to bring life and realism to the characters he interprets (Gordon Gekko in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is a recent example), but even in bad movies in which he interprets trite characters (like Ghosts of Girlfriends Past), his mere presence is enough to bring charisma and energy to his role. And I think that that is the authentic trademark from a film star, which allows him to transcend the economic success or the ephemeral popularity. In other words, I did not like Solitary Man, and as a consequence, I do not consider it to be worthy of a recommendation; however, Douglas' charismatic work makes it to look better than what it really is.Solitary Man is basically one of those character studies which Hollywood screenwriters like so much. The story is practically inexistent, something which leaves us with a long chain of dramatic scenes, "deep" dialogs and family conflicts, which are all anchored by a main character who is full of fails and problems and who, despite everything, tries to redeem himself. As I previously mentioned, the actors bring good performances, but they could not save this movie from being pretty boring. And I think that that is mainly a consequence from a monotonous and lacking of direction screenplay. Or, better said, "lacking of movement", because there is not a narrative momentum to an either logic or satisfactory conclusion. What we only have are multiple instances from the main character acting like an insensible lout, and facing the consequences from his actions. Is there any important message in there? Don't act like an insensible lout? Unfortunately, I think that, by my point of view, that is all this movie says.Besides of Douglas' performance, I also liked the works from Jenna Fischer in a surprisingly dramatic role; from the great Mary-Louise Parker, who makes practically a cameo as the main character's new "love"; from Imogen Potts as a cynical and intelligent student; from Jesse Eisenberg as a shy young man; from Susan Sarandon as the main character's ex-wife; and specially from Danny DeVito as a main character's friend. However, as I previously mentioned, they could not save Solitary Man from being a tedious movie which made me feel like wasting my time. Nevertheless, I like to see Douglas facing his mature age with dignity.

"You can't cheat death, Benny. Nobody can, no matter how many 19-year-olds you talk into your bed."The topic of the mid-life crisis and men losing their identity and sense of self as they get older has been fertile ground for movies in the past, and Solitary Man is another entry into that sub-genre. It's a drama with slight comedic elements. Michael Douglas stars as a once powerful man who lost his wealth and position when he was caught running a scam. He fills that void with ill-advised trysts with young women and depending emotionally on his exasperated daughter. When his last-ditch attempt to regain his past career is derailed because of another poor decision, he has to confront what his life has become, his own self- destructive behavior, and how his choices have affected the people around him. This isn't a ground-breaking story, but it's certainly watchable and occasionally emotionally involving. The real reason to see Solitary Man is the cast. Along with Douglas, the movie stars Mary-Louise Parker, Imogen Poots, Danny DeVito, Susan Sarandon, Jesse Eisenberg, and Jenna Fisher. Some of the parts are bigger than others (I really wish Sarandon would have been a larger part of the movie), but fans of any of them will want to see this. For everyone else, Solitary Man is a movie you should watch if it piques your interest. Will you be adding it to the list of your all-time favorites? Probably not. It's definitely worth ninety minutes on a Sunday afternoon, though.

When discussing tried and true actors with great likability, most would include Michael Douglas. I first fell in love with him back in the 80's as Jack T. Colton, Kathleen Turner's romance book hero come to life in Romancing the Stone. Unfortunately, not even Michael Douglas' charm and charisma will have you rooting for him in Solitary Man. Ben Kalmen (Douglas) is an immature, self-destructive, lech. He's supposed to be lovably irrepressible and sagaciously fighting back from professional disgrace. But mostly, you just feel like tuning out and leaving him to his own devices.Do you want Kalmen to have it all together? No. What good would that be in a character study type film. I feel the problem comes in the execution of revealing who this character was, in relation to who he's become. We don't get that until the very last scene and that's just too late. The other difficulty – it's too dialog heavy, not in a clever, fast paced Nancy Meyer's film way, this is more ex-positional, soliloquy.