In a summer full of comedic duds, the upcoming release of The Extra Man could not have come soon enough. In what looks to be his funniest performance in years, Kevin Kline plays the role of Henry Harrison, an old gigolo of a man who decides to rent out and share his apartment with a young man named Louis Ives (Paul Dano). The Extra Man looks to be sharply written by its directors Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman (American Splendour, The Nanny Diaries) and novelist Jonathan Ames (who wrote the novel the movie’s based upon); with a script seemingly full of one-line zingers, the movie is bound to contain a few duds for jokes, but at least the writers and cast members seemingly tried to create something fresh in a summer full of factorized comedies. In the film’s trailer, two lines in particular helped sell me a future ticket at my local movie theatre: “The women I like best are the Hasidic women…they really get it!” and “There’s a dwarf in that picture!” ; (rebuttal) “It’s a child, Henry.” With a supporting cast including the likes of John C. Reilly, The Extra Man looks like a promising contender for being one of the funniest movies of the year. Such promises will be either fulfilled or negated in theatres across North America this coming Friday, July 30th.