The Extra Man - 1 smile

Is there a point when quirky becomes so eccentric that it’s unlikable … and unwatchable? That’s what’s happened to “The Extra Man,” starring Kevin Kline and Paul Dano. First we have our protagonist, Louis Ives, a want-to-be novelist who cross-dresses, has the manners of an 18^th century nobleman and the personality of a peanut. He moves to New York and rents a room from Henry Harrison (Kline), an aging gigolo who collects Christmas ornaments, wrote a play that was stolen by a hunchback, and disapproves of education for women. Henry’s downstairs friend, Gershon (John C. Reilly) looks like the Cowardly Lion with his wild dreadlocks and ragged beard and speaks in a falsetto but sings in a normal voice. At its heart, “The Extra Man” is about Louis’s education, but the oddball people that enter his life are caricatures and they do nothing to endear themselves to the audience and give meaning to the lessons Louis learns. This movie works too hard to be weird, neglecting genuine emotions and character development. 7/28/10