This drama charts the incident-packed life of Barney Panofksy (Paul Giamatti) through several decades, as he stumbles from one bad marriage to another until meeting the woman of his dreams. Helped and hindered in equal measure by his lifelong friends and bon viveur ex-cop father (Dustin Hoffman), Barney seems to have finally found true happiness with Miriam (Rosamund Pike), but another wrong turn is never too far away. Director Richard J Lewis makes a bold attempt at truncating the vast scope of Mordecai Richler's prize-winning novel into just over two hours of screen time, but occasionally comes unstuck trying to balance the comedy and tragedy. Giamatti is perfectly cast as the world-weary Barney (who's not a million miles from the hangdog character he played in Sideways), while an over-the-top Hoffman and Minnie Driver as Barney's spoilt second wife are the major sources of humour.

The picaresque and touching story of the politically incorrect, fully lived life of the impulsive, irascible and fearlessly blunt Barney Panofsky.