'Win Win' Receives Rave Reviews From Moviegoers and Critics Alike

Although the highly anticipated movie was released on March 18, the closest theater screening the movie was in New York City — until today.

Win Win, starring Paul Giamatti and written by New Providence High School graduates Joe Tiboni and Tom McCarthy, with McCarthy as the director, premieres at the Roberts Chatham Cinema today. Show times are 6:40 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Our very own New Providence Patch reporter Michelle Colandrea, a borough resident, will be at the 9 p.m. screening tonight at Roberts Chatham Cinema.

Be sure to look for Michelle after the movie and tell her what you loved about Win Win, which has received rave reviews from the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Rolling Stone, just to name a few.

At a screening at the Angelika Film Center in New York City, some moviegoers also had nothing but rave reviews about Win Win. Caution: there may be a few spoilers below.

"I loved it, it was fantastic, said Jill Zenker, a 52-year-old Manhattan resident. "The characters were great, the character development was great. I cried and I laughed, and laughed and laughed."

Michelle Baran, 49, watched the movie with her daughter and husband.

“I thought it was wonderful. We all loved it,” said Baran, a New York City resident. “The cast was great. Someone told me it was going to be the Blind Side, but with wrestling. I didn’t see the Blind Side and I have no desire to see it, but this movie was just great.”

Baran's daughter Amanda Berry echoed her mother's comments.

“I think it was so character driven,” said Berry, a 24-year-old New York City resident. “I thought it was a very original story line. It wasn’t something I had heard before. But it was the kind of thing where you knew in the end, he was going to get caught.”

Elaine Sohn, 60, went to see the movie with her husband, Peter.

“I loved it. I really thought it was very well done,” said Sohn, a Brooklyn resident. “I know nothing about wrestling, but it was touching. I’m a fan of Paul Giamatti so I went in thinking positive thoughts and that kid [Alex Shaffer, who played the champion wrestler in the movie] was wonderful.”

When Peter and Elaine Sohn learned Alex Shaffer is a real wrestling champion and that the movie was set in a town called New Providence, based on our very own town and written by two NPHS graduates, they were very surprised.

“I didn’t realize how true to life it was,” Peter Sohn said. “It was so true, it was authentic and touching, and I hope it plays across the country.”

Since Win Win was released on March 18, several other theaters around the country began screening the film and more will be announced soon, according to the official Win Win website. The movie is set to open nationwide on April 8, 2011.

Although there weren’t any local residents at the screening in New York City, New Providence native Sean Colandrea, who is currently a junior at Columbia College in Chicago, was able to see a screening of Win Win before it was released.

“I thought it was a very good movie. It definitely had that small town vibe,” said the 21-year-old, who is related to New Providence Patch reporter Michelle Colandrea. “I think people should see it.”

Sean Colandrea pointed out that unless you know the town of New Providence, you wouldn’t realize that the movie resembles an actual town in New Jersey.

“If you were to see the movie and not be from New Providence, you wouldn’t have that connection,” he said. “As far as visually and setting-wise, I thought they did a good job of making it feel like New Providence. I thought the town they chose to film it in was very similar to New Providence and as far as the re-creation of our gym, that was all pretty accurate.”

Check out Win Win tonight at the 9 p.m. screening and be sure to look for Michelle after the movie, with her notebook and voice recorder, interviewing moviegoers.