Comeback Season

Walter Pearce (Ray Liotta) has a good family. Paul (Brendan Fehr) asks for his daughter Chloe (Rachel Blanchard)'s hand in marriage. It overwhelms him and he reveals his affair with secretary Nisha. His wife Deborah (Glenne Headly) throws him and his stuff out of the house. Meanwhile, their next door neighbor high school star Skylar Eckerman (Shaun Sipos) gets a football-ending injury. Both Skylar and Walter get arrested for separate incidents. Walter's other daughter Christine (Brooke Nevin) returns to town to bail both of them out. With Skylar's parents out of town, Walter stays with Skylar and much too close for Deborah's taste. Skylar had broken Christine's heart before. Walter is desperate to win back his wife and the grumpy Skylar is convinced to help. Both find growth as real men.

The story is very sitcomy. I do love all the actors in this but it's also hard to root for Walter. Liotta's intensity makes him an odd comedic choice. His cheating puts him in a hole and it's a struggle to climb out of that hole. He doesn't always make it easy. Bruce McCulloch of 'The Kids in the Hall' does both writing and directing duties. There are some edgier material. There are little sparks of humor but it doesn't exceed beyond a flat sitcom.

"Comeback Season" is a pretty good comedy/drama.

Walter Pearce (Liotta) had it all: His beautiful wife Debra (Headly) and a great job. Until he confesses to her that he had an affair. She throws him out and he has to live with his neighbor Skylar (Shaun Sipos) a former high school football star. Now they have to get their lives back.

The biggest reason to see this is for Liotta's performance. He is excellent. He brings a perfect balance of humor and drama to it. The scenes when he has to confess and apologize are very well-acted. Headly and Sipos also put in good performances. The ending is a little sappy but it works. The only problem with the movie is the occasional audio drop-outs in some scenes. It looks like they edited something by muting some of the dialogue. It's distracting.

But overall, "Comeback Season" is worth-watching.

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