Second Best (2003)

41% of critics liked it
(17 reviews)
36% of users liked it
(484 ratings)

Writer Eric Weber (author of the infamous paperback How to Pick Up Girls) directs his screenplay Second Best. Set in New Jersey, the story concerns a group of fiftysomething men dealing with their feelings of inadequacy. Struggling writer Elliot (Joe Pantoliano) is the most desperate of the bunch,… More Writer Eric Weber (author of the infamous paperback How to Pick Up Girls) directs his screenplay Second Best. Set in New Jersey, the story concerns a group of fiftysomething men dealing with their feelings of inadequacy. Struggling writer Elliot (Joe Pantoliano) is the most desperate of the bunch, having failed in the publishing business and trying to finish writing a screenplay. The group prepares for a visit from their old childhood friend who is now a big-time Hollywood producer. Elliot hopes this visit will lead to bigger things in his own life. Also starring Boyd Gaines, Jennifer Tilly, and Bronson Pinchot, Second Best was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004 as part of the American Spectrum competition. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 26 min.
Directed By: Eric Weber
Written By: Eric Weber
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 16, 2004 Wide
On DVD: Nov 15, 2005
Studio: Velocity Films

Critic Reviews

Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
While the dialogue and characterizations frequently resonate with uncomfortable truths and some genuine humor, the central character's quirks are far more irritating than illuminating.
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
Might have made a good stage monologue, but as a film it's overstated and barely baked.
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
Unfortunately there's nothing very sympathetic about Elliot, or even interesting.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
A sour and pointless exercise.
Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
Though the essays are smartly written and Pantoliano manages to make Elliot vaguely sympathetic, Second Best is a long slog in the dumps.
Akiva Gottlieb, Village Voice
An ugly, amateurish film that champions mediocrity in a meta-attempt to justify its own ineptitude.
Jake Tracer, L.A. Weekly
Second Best tries too hard for sincerity, when it's actually more sincere when cynical.
Jonathan W. Hickman, Entertainment Insiders
Eric Weber's spot on character study of the restless and down trodden white America male is a bit of bittersweet magic.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Weber's losers really are losers -- envious, spiteful, complacent, mean-spirited and ultimately boring malcontents pickled in their own poison, and they drag his film down with them.
Chris Barsanti, Filmcritic.com
An embittered writer's movie about the coruscating damage of jealousy and the impossibility of finding nobility in failure