Skip to main content

The Extra Man (2010)

Paul Dano redeems himself after his monochromatic performance in Little Miss Sunshine (2006) in this comedic gem based on author-raconteur Jonathan Ames’ novel of the same name. Ames continues to indulge his penchant for perversion as he recounts the lives of men who cannot control their sexual impulses. In all of his personal and fictional works, highly depraved individuals are surprisingly the most capable of expressing humanity and tenderness towards the most vulnerable members of society. Considering that most of his stories are set in New York City, a locale that tends to attract the self-obsessed, this is no mean feat.
After a “crippling brassiere incident,” Louis Ives (Dano) is fired from his job teaching English at a fancy Princeton prep school. He decides it’s the perfect time to move to Manhattan, where he can pursue his dream of becoming a writer. He rents a small room from one Henry H. Harrison (Kevin Kline), a flamboyant man who wages a daily war against modernity. He survives by serving as an “extra” man for wealthy, lonely older women. He’s not a male escort, he is quick to point out, but simply filling in the gap left by deceased husbands. His job is more about gallantly keeping the women company rather than providing sexual gratification. Ives delves deeper into his personal perversions as his preoccupation with women’s lingerie continues to dog him; he frequents a dominatrix to receive absolution through spanking, although Harrison makes it abundantly clear that he abhors even the mere allusion to sex. The movie reaches a head when Harrison returns from a trip to Palm Beach and finds Ives grotesquely dressed as a woman. Harrison forgives Ives for his transgressions, perhaps because he has grown so attached to his young protégé. For his part, Ives realizes that fulfillment does not lie in dressing as a woman but instead seizing life as a man. Also starring John C. Reilly as the hairy but helpful neighbor Gershon and the understated Katie Holmes as Ives’ luminescent co-worker Mary.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Frank Bender: Local Artist Who Became a Forensic Phenomenon

“If Frank does your bust, you’re toast.” (John Walsh, former host of the long-running television show  America’s Most Wanted ) Although the mustard-yellow building located at 2215 South Street next to Bicycle Therapy now houses an art gallery, from 1986 until his death in 2011, Francis (Frank) Augustus Bender, Jr. lived and worked in this small space. He was first known as a talented painter and sculptor, but in the late 1970s, he embarked on a second career in which he helped local and national law enforcement officials to identify victims of violent crime and to track down individuals who had managed to elude justice for years and even decades. Fascinated with human anatomy, Bender regularly visited Philadelphia’s morgue to learn more about this topic by viewing corpses. After examining a woman whose features had been obliterated by multiple gunshot wounds, Bender boldly declared that he knew what the victim’s face looked like before her injuries. Although he helped ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ticks!

SYNOPSIS of: "Tick-borne Diseases" by Sanson et al. and "Tick Removal," by Sloan et al., on  Medscape              What has eight legs, a  capitulum , and drinks from a  hypostome ? If you guessed the tick, you’re right! In the U.S., tick season spans from April through September. The further one ventures out of the city and into the suburbs, an encounter with this eight-legged bloodsucker becomes more likely. In our neck of the woods, tick-infested areas include Gladwyne, the Wissahickon, and Valley Forge Park. Ticks are vectors of disease, which is a fancy way of saying that they carry and transmit pathogens (disease-causing substances) to their hosts. In order to move on to the next developmental stage, these tiny vampires need to feed on blood. The bad news is that ticks can transmit illnesses like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and tularemia (a serious infectious disease). The good news is that you are highly unlik...
Post a Comment
Read more

Revisiting Vioxx: Monitoring Future Drugs Post Approval

SYNTHESIS of: Press Release, Penn Medicine News.  “NSAIDs and Cardiovascular Risk Explained, According to Studies from the Perelman School of Medicine,”  May 2, 2012; and  “FDA Must Be Proactive About Postapproval Drug Safety: IOM,”  May 3, 2012, Medscape Nearly 10 years after Merck withdrew the COX-2 inhibitor Vioxx® (rofecoxib) from the market in 2004 because it increased the risk of heart problems when used for over one year, eight randomized trials conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine confirmed the possible adverse side effects of COX-2 inhibitors like Vioxx®. Initially, COX-2 inhibitors were viewed as a better alternative to traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like Advil because they are less likely to cause gastrointestinal bleeding. Vioxx® selectively blocks COX-2, which produces prostaglandins (specifically prostocyclin) that cause pain and inflammation. However, prostocyclin ...
Post a Comment
Read more