Touching, poignant. Expertly acted all around. Dustin Hoffman and Paul Giamatti should have been nominated for for Oscars. Must see. One of th best of the year.

Really enjoyed this film! Very complex, spanning a 30 year time period with great acting and superb dialog. Loved the diverse and quirky characters and the complex subject matter. Had me both laughing and crying by the end of the film. Left me thinking and feeling I need to go and see it again to better sort it all out!! Loved it!!

Paul Giamati was perfect. Dustin Hoffman was well-cast. Expect to hear more from this special movie as our next awards roll around. Some wonderful laugh-out-loud moments along with smiles and tears.

While performances were excellent, you should read the novel first and then (soon!) see the film. The film doesn't follow the novel exactly, but very close, and reading it will help you appreciate some of the scenes that seem to run by a bit too quickly. But do go to see it -- like other Richler stories, Barney (without giving the film away) is searching to be a somebody, and here we see his version of his life juxtaposed with the version of others as he makes his way. Very thought-provoking (and very funny at turns), it will stay with you longer than you would expect.

This movie sneaks up on you with all the wild ways of a rich young life, hard work, hard drinking and wild women, however you don't realise that gradually things are changing all the time. The acting is excellent and the directer on his first movie having done a lot of good TV work proves that he is very capable of controlling a movie. The pacing and sure touch with the actors stands out. Maybe not for everybody, younger viewers or people with short attention spanswho need lots of action would not not sit still for 2 hours of this!