Click here to return to homepage
or 
Home > Categories > Movies > Drama > The Extra Man review
Sick of adverts? Click here to join up for free and be rid of them.
Louis Ives fancies himself a young gentleman fashioned after his heroes in the books of F. Scott Fitzgerald. He dresses the part - favouring neckties, blue blazers and sport coats. But he also has a penchant for women's clothing, a weakness that leads to him losing his job as a teacher and a Princeton day school. He heads for New York City, where he rents a room in the madly discombobulated apartment of Henry Harrison, a failed but brilliant playwright, who performs great style the duties of a 'walker' - an escort for the rich widows of the Upper East Side.
The two men, separated in age by more than 40 years, develop a relationship as irascible mentor and eager apprentice, which leads to a series of urban adventures - encouraging everything from a leaping lion to a wildly jealous hirsuite neighbour to drunken nonagenarians and an entrancing green-obsessed young journalist.
Product reviews...
Review by: diogenes
Dated: 22nd of March, 2011
I'm never the biggest fan of Kevin Kline but I did enjoy his performance in The Extra Man. He presents a powerful performance of an eccentric character - that of an asexual man who also acts as an escort for older women: A hilarious concept in itself, but for me, it just doesn't really work.
Kline's dominant presence on-screen tends to overshadow the other actors to the point the film slows somewhat whenever Kline is off-screen. The other characters are somewhat lack-lustre and detract from the film. I can't really work out whether the script is lacking, the actors or the direction of the film. But either way, it lack a little cohesion for me.
What sounds like it could be a fantastic film, and probably could be in British hands (Yes, I am biased) if they tightened the script and removed the slap-stick element, but overall the film comes to be a little Americanised in it's humour. Since this is generally the intended market it may work very well in the American market - but not for me.
Kline makes the film, but it is a shame he seems to be the driving element for the film with little support from his co-stars.
Guest comments...
There are currently no comments on file. Will you click here and be the first?
Random listing from 'Movies'...
Tom Cruise, the most exciting and successful star in the world, returns to one of his signature roles, Secret Agent Ethan Hunt, in "Mission: Impossible III." In this pulse-racing, mind-bending action thriller, Hunt confronts the toughest villain he's ever faced - Owen Davian (Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman), an international weapons ... more...
All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of KIWIreviews.co.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, under the assumption that they are the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.
"Reality is what refuses to go away when I stop believing in it."
Philip K. Dick
