Game 6 (2006)
Runtime: 87 mins
Theatrical Release: Mar 10, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: Written by award-winning novelist Don DeLillo (WHITE NOISE, UNDERWORLD) and directed by Michael Hoffman (SOAPDISH, ONE FINE DAY), GAME 6 is a smart psychological study of a man unable to face the reality of his life. Michael Keaton stars as Nickey Rogan, a successful playwright of Broadway... Written by award-winning novelist Don DeLillo (WHITE NOISE, UNDERWORLD) and directed by Michael Hoffman (SOAPDISH, ONE FINE DAY), GAME 6 is a smart psychological study of a man unable to face the reality of his life. Michael Keaton stars as Nickey Rogan, a successful playwright of Broadway fluff whose new, serious play is scheduled to open on October 25, 1986 -- the same night his beloved Boston Red Sox have a chance at winning the World Series, playing Game 6 against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. Despite his popular success, Rogan sees his life as being as futile as the Red Sox, who have not won the baseball championship since 1918. He's not very close with his daughter (Ari Graynor), his wife (Catherine O'Hara) is divorcing him, his girlfriend (Bebe Neuwirth) doesn't understand him, and his lead actor (Harris Yulin) has a parasite in his brain that is causing him to forget his lines. Meanwhile, Rogan is terrified that hated theater critic Steven Schwimmer (Robert Downey Jr.) will tear his play apart, leaving him a shell of a man, like his friend Elliot Litvack (Griffin Dunne). A former cabdriver, Rogan spends much of the day stuck in taxis in heavy traffic, attempting to engage the hacks in conversation, and bonding better with strangers than with his friends and family. As the curtain approaches, he can't decide whether he'd rather be at the play or watching the game on television, afraid that both might fail him. Hoffman sets the film in a tight-knit New York City community that moves at a snail's pace, where coincidences both welcome and not abound. Keaton excels as the tortured soul who is looking for that critical hit--in both Broadway and baseball parlance. He just can't face another ball going through his legs. Hoboken's Yo La Tengo composed the movie's excellent score. [More]
Genre: Comedies
Starring: Michael Keaton, Robert Downey, Griffin Dunne, Bebe Neuwirth, Catherine O'Hara
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
The big problem here is one of credibility, on a number of fronts.
Um retrato pretensioso de Nova York como centro dramático do mundo que acaba se salvando em função dos bons diálogos e das ótimas performances de Keaton e Downey Jr.
If you're looking for a film about smart, confused people who make mistakes (like Buckner) and try to learn from them, this could be it.
Game 6 is enthralled with the sound of its words, even as it loves the deliberate, sensual pace of a well-played (or well-lost) ball game.
Novelist Don DeLillo brings many of his strengths to the screenplay for Game 6.
The Red Sox as fatalistic metaphor is almost a quaint notion now, but Game 6 brings it all back to vivid life.
The thudding, obvious symbolism is the film's biggest concern and its primary problem.
A very nice and simple film, with clear messages and sparklingly witty dialogue.
Keaton embraces his role with a relish he hasn't shown in more than a decade, winding his character into new corners of desperation with each scene.
A shaky director, a deadly critic and a losing ball club collide in an entertaining surreal showdown just off Broadway.
A meditation on American theater and the Great American Pastime that hovers above the surface of reality but never quite takes off, either.
Keaton is terrific, as is the entire cast; the result is a lean, polished little gem.
Clangs with the ripely overwritten dialogue of award-winning novelist Don DeLillo. And that dialogue, coupled with a go-nowhere script, is this wannabe-likeable indie drama's undoing.
No writer could ever top the high drama witnessed in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series — which may be the point of this sloppy but endearing mash note to baseball, art and fate.


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