The Extra Man

An “extra man,” is a escort for women that live longer than their men. They have the need for a man to fill the extra seat. You see, in society there is boy-girl-boy-girl seating at a table. This makes a need for a intellectual. A man with class to bring to dinner parties, the theater, or art openings. Kevin Kline plays Henry Harrison a character right out of a F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. “I’m not extra, I’m crucial, filled with wit and intelligence.” In this film as in most of Fitzgerald's writing there is a partially involved narrator Louis Ives played by Paul Dano. This young man moves to New York to find himself and become a writer. He seems to belong to a different time, with old clothes and soft speech. He shears a apartment with Henry who is a little off his rocker. This eccentric man brings new meaning to young Louis's life by teaching him the tricks of the city. The neighbor Gershon is something of a big foot played by John C. Reilly. The only thing that seemed out of place was Katie Holmes as Mary. Mary works with Louis at a environmental magazine. She plays a very green and hip photo editor that is more then selfish. Holmes is the only one in the cast that is "acting." She squirms through her small part not portraying exactly what Louis needs as a crush. Co-writer-directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini's made you love most of the cheaters in "The Extra Man." Just as they did in "American Splendor," the story of the late Harvey Pekar. An "extra man" is not needed to go to see Kevin Kline in this movie.