But talk about OVERHYPE. This film was not the second coming; it was not some kind of magical fusion of novel and film, and it certainly wasn't so great that it deserves comparison with the small character-driven classics of the seventies. It's a really good movie about really interesting characters. That's all.

Paul Giamatti is terrific, but I think Thomas Haden Church is the greater revelation. He inhabits his role with such a wanton gusto that it's impossible not to like him even though he's a desperate asshole clawing for the final seconds of his "youth."

The writing was also amazing, in the sense that it captured the way guys really talk better than maybe any other movie ever has. I've had conversations like the ones in this movie, all the time, and it was hilarious to have that sense of constant recognition. I've been Miles and I've known plenty of Jacks in my day.

--Pop Geek