Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler, pictured) has been on self-destruct since he lost his family on 9/11. He looks a mess, he doesn't work and he's got no friends. So when he bumps into his old college room-mate Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle) in New York, he's fully prepared to keep the encounter brief and return to his denial as fast as possible. Johnson has other ideas. With the help of therapist Angela Oakhurst (Liv Tyler), Johnson coaxes Charlie back to reality, where the pain of losing his wife and daughters pushes him over the edge and, ultimately, onto the path of recovery.
In 2002, Sandler achieved critical success with his sensitive turn in Punch-Drunk Love. Five years later, the funny man impresses again in Mike Binder's bittersweet drama about bereavement and friendship. But it's Cheadle, playing opposite Sandler, who claims the film's standout performance as the successful, yet unhappy, dentist who finds his own peace by the closing credits.
(4 Star)
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