"[P]ure pleasure to experience....With an impeccable feel for off-center human comedy at its funniest and most heartfelt, its low-key qualities are so relaxed and unforced every moment feels like a gift."
Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan (03/18/2011)
5 stars out of 5 -- "WIN WIN is a film with a big heart; it's an eccentric dramedy and a crowd pleaser."
Box Office - Pam Grady (01/23/2011)
"[F]unny and warmhearted....Mr. McCarthy neatly sets up the elements that will bring about Mike's self-deluding rise, his near-calamitous fall and his eventual redemption."
New York Times - A. O. Scott (03/23/2011)
3 stars out of 4 -- "Alex Shaffer, who was cast more for his wrestling than his acting, is effortlessly convincing."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (03/24/2011)
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "This movie wins you over, head and heart, without cheating. It's just about perfect."
Rolling Stone - Peter Travers (03/31/2011)
"As Kyle, newcomer Alex Shaffer finds fresh colors in the old delinquent spectrum, and Giamatti, who's at his best, gives nervous scrambling an undertone of tenderness." -- Grade: B+
Entertainment Weekly - Owen Gleiberman (03/25/2011)
"[H]andled with a deftly light touch....Contributing to the authenticity is the top-notch ensemble cast, especially the lead performances of Giamatti and Amy Ryan."
USA Today - Claudia Puig (03/18/2011)
"McCarthy's benevolent drama spins a delicate web of human interests, pulled this way and that by contrary motivations and feelings."
Sight and Sound - Samuel Wigley (06/01/2011)
3 stars out of 5 -- "There are pleasures along the way: Giamatti's a delight to watch...and Shaffer makes Kyle an endearing character..."
Total Film - Philip Kemp (07/01/2011)
"Warmly observed....Giamatti and Ryan are reaction-shot geniuses, and it's a pleasure to watch them stretch out in the breathing room McCarthy builds into his scripts."
Movieline - Michelle Orange (03/17/2011)