Mircea A Never heard of the movie before watching it on TV (on a Sunday evening). I liked Douglas as a gifted actor ever since The China Syndrome and Fatal Attraction. He's made other gems like Traffic since then, but Solitary Man is a low-key hit worth seeing any other day than Sunday. Of course it helps that the movie is supported by such a big-names as Devito and Sarandon, however Douglas shines on his own here. The film subject must have not been an easy one to develop and sell probably because it speaks to a limited demographic segment. I don't understand why it cost $15 million to produce this, especially since it brought in only $5 million, but don't let that be a measure of anything other than poor marketing perhaps.

bpunsky Reading these reviews, I'd say a lot of people somewhat miss the point of Douglass' character. I just want to offer an alternate perspective and say that I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Ben Kalmen isn't supposed to be liked, first of all. You're not even supposed to pity him, sympathize with him, or empathize with him. Well, maybe empathize a little. You're simply supposed to (at least, in my opinion) see things a little differently and realize how someone who would be completely amoral and blatantly unacceptable from any other point of view can be nothing more, and nothing less, than human if you make an attempt to understand him. Another misconception is that this "mid"life crisis is what brought on his self-destructive behavior. Maybe it was meant to be that way, I don't know, but if you rationalize it, Kalmen was never a good man. His persona almost certainly qualifies for narcissistic personality disorder with a deep histrionic streak, possibly even Machiavellian. He has no compassion for anyone, or even care, really. He uses people to his own ends and reacts poorly to criticism, reacting violently, even, when he can't either pretend it doesn't bother him or cut deeper in retaliation. He's only interested in boosting his own ego. His own daughter and grandson are less important to him than his pride. It would seem their only function to him is as a means to escape boredom. It's clear he never felt different, even before his troubles started, as it's strongly suggested that he was never really a father to his daughter at any point. Put simply, you're not supposed to be able to relate. His character is so deeply and fundamentally flawed to make it that much more shocking to find that he is human, after all. All of his insights are shallow and either a defense mechanism, such as casting everyone as being as self-interested as himself, or apparent, such as that there are "good ones" with whom you shouldn't "f*** up." He even admits to not understanding true friendship, suggesting trust is a completely alien idea to him. The only reason he appeared, at one time, to be relatively normal is because he was getting what he wanted within acceptable boundaries and was a good enough charmer to get away with selfishness. His downward spiral was simply brought on by the realization that he had nothing left to lose, at least, in his mind, so that he gained more by leaving those bounds. Morals were never a concern to him. This is shown most obviously by the fact that he never had a revelation, never changed his ways, and never wanted to. He felt no guilt and no shame for taking what he wanted, when he wanted, with no remorse and no consideration for the feelings of others.

lewiskendell "You can't cheat death, Benny. Nobody can, no matter how many 19-year-olds you talk into your bed."The topic of the mid-life crisis and men losing their identity and sense of self as they get older has been fertile ground for movies in the past, and Solitary Man is another entry into that sub-genre. It's a drama with slight comedic elements. Michael Douglas stars as a once powerful man who lost his wealth and position when he was caught running a scam. He fills that void with ill-advised trysts with young women and depending emotionally on his exasperated daughter. When his last-ditch attempt to regain his past career is derailed because of another poor decision, he has to confront what his life has become, his own self- destructive behavior, and how his choices have affected the people around him. This isn't a ground-breaking story, but it's certainly watchable and occasionally emotionally involving. The real reason to see Solitary Man is the cast. Along with Douglas, the movie stars Mary-Louise Parker, Imogen Poots, Danny DeVito, Susan Sarandon, Jesse Eisenberg, and Jenna Fisher. Some of the parts are bigger than others (I really wish Sarandon would have been a larger part of the movie), but fans of any of them will want to see this. For everyone else, Solitary Man is a movie you should watch if it piques your interest. Will you be adding it to the list of your all-time favorites? Probably not. It's definitely worth ninety minutes on a Sunday afternoon, though.

ron-965-533962 Hollywood, like the lead character in this movie deserves Zero viewers. Why pay hard earned money to watch a corrupt individual's despicable actions? From the onset of the movie it is clear the man is a womanizer, he shows more attention to a women in the diner that he's attending with his ex-wife and son, than he does to his flesh and blood son. I quickly alerted my wife, "the man is a womanizer". And the movie goes on to explicitly show how low of character the lead is, in a borderline pornographic way. The act that is the climax of the movie is despicable. I am highly disappointed with the movie "Solitary Man" -- it highlights the worst of human nature and it saddens me that millions of dollars were spent that could have influenced society in a positive way, but instead lower the bar to the savage level.