Solitary Man
Solitary Man stars Michael Douglas as Ben Kalmen an almost sexagenarian skirt chasing scoundrel with a spotty EKG – which at least proves that he does have a heart. While bedding a litany of females who are at most half his age he spends his life emotionally sabotaging the relationships he has with those who refuse to stop loving him. That includes his friend of 35 years Jimmy Merino (Danny DeVito), his newfound protégé Daniel Cheston (Jesse Eisenberg) and even family like his daughter Susan (Jenna Fischer) not to mention ex wife Nancy (Susan Sarandon). Once a kingpin in the New York business world Ben blows it all on a hair brained scam and just when he’s on the cusp of a comeback he manages to again scuttle himself completely through the double cross of his latest liaison (both political and romantic) with Jordan Karsch (Mary-Louise Parker) via her daughter Allyson (Imogen Poots). Rebounding this time seems impossible which is one of the elements that make this well written and unpredictable story worthwhile, but it also re-establishes Michael Douglas as a crackerjack leading man. That’s an attribute we almost forgot having only seen him in occasional brilliant cameos lately.