Dandy dreamer Louis Ives (Paul Dano) fancies himself a hero in the F. Scott Fitzgerald mold. He's Nick Carraway to this film's Gatsby, Henry Harrison (a fine Kevin Kline), who proclaims himself "to the right of the pope" in matters of sex.
Thus, Louis leaves out "the brassiere incident" (he was fired from his job at a girls' prep school for dressing like a lady) when replying to the older eccentric's "Gentleman seeks same" apartment ad. Still, Louis's dalliance at Manhattan tranny bars is tame compared to his new roommate's line as an "extra man," or gigolo to wealthy nonagenarian widows.
In the wake of The Nanny Diaries, married filmmakers Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman try to recapture some of that American Splendor, but their literal take on Jonathan Ames's 1998 novel risks leaving you, like the title of his 2007 short story, "Bored to Death."
