MICHAEL DOUGLAS, Jenna Fischer and Jake Richard Siciliano in "Solitary Man."
At the beginning of “Solitary Man,,” car magnate Ben Kalmen seems to have the world at his feet.
He’s rich. He’s about to open another car dealership in a prime spot. Even as he ages, he retains his finesse with women and can talk them into bed.
Oh, he has some problems. When he sees his daughter and grandson in the park, he has to sush them from calling him ‘Dad’ or ‘Grandpa’ because he has his eye on a young lady he’s thinking of picking up.
He has Susan Sarandon as his ex-wife and the luscious Mary-Louise Parker as a girlfriend.
He even gets to take his girlfriend’s pretty daughter, played by Imogen Poots, to his alma mater to help her gain admission.
And that’s where his life starts to crumble. Not willing to give an inch, he starts off getting in a fight with a college student and garnering the ire of the university’s chief of security.
The Douglas character ends up sleeping with his girlfriend’s 18-year-old daughter at the university. Again, he can’t let it go and pursues her until she tells her mother.
That’s when his life REALLY starts to plummet. Seems he is having real financial problems and his quest for the new car dealership is turned down by the town’s various boards.
A past indiscretion involving a car franchise and the fact he barely avoided prison doesn’t help the situation. He can’t even get a job as a car salesman.
He must go to his daughter for rent money for a cheap apartment.
His relationship with daughter is strained a bit too, when he sleeps with her best friend and as a result fails to wake up for grandson’s birthday party.
He indeed is a solitary man, burning any chance of a relationship with his girlfriend, his ex-wife, anyone. He treads water trying to have a relationship with his grandson.
Jesse Eisenberg of “Social Network” fame plays a nerdy college student who shows Douglas around the college. Douglas gives him some important advice about bagging chicks and Eisenberg becomes his biggest fan. At least for awhile. Until the Douglas character tries to bed Eisenberg’s girl, the one Douglas helped him get.
In many ways it is a fascinating morality play. It tells you that when you treat people as so many playthings and don’t establish and nurture relationships, you might be OK, for awhile. But it comes back to bite.
In one scene, the Douglas character discusses how he came to the realization in his life that while he was a car dealer, he did not necessarily have to be an honest car dealer.
Yet he discovered that nobody noticed, nobody cared.
But eventually his deeds and lack of relationships helped do him in.
He couldn’t pay his rent on his shabby apartment.
A man nearing his twilight years finds himself returning to his college town and asking for a job in the neighborhood restaurant owned by his former college acquaintance, played by Danny DeVito.
Even at this point he has no shame. He still woos the coeds and attends college parties.
That is until his ex-girlfriend finds out he’s in the same city where her daughter is going to school and causes him some more hurt.
He’s a man estranged from all, without a job, without any financial or emotional support. He’s a guy who thought he had it all, but ends up with nothing.
It’s a compelling film. One of Douglas’ best. Best yet, it is available for streaming through Netflix and other services. Like the Douglas character, you can seek immediate gratification. Watch it right now.
SOLITARY MAN
- Directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien
- Written by Brian Koppelman
- Rated R for language and sexual content
- Runtime: 90 minutes
- 4 stars out of 5
