Solitary Man

No other actor can strike the balance between charming and slimy as well as Michael Douglas, and in Solitary Man he finds the common ground between his two best roles: Wall Street's corrupt arbitrageur Gordon Gekko, and Wonder Boys' loveable pothead professor Grady Tripp. Here, Douglas is Ben Kalmen, a used car salesman who's made some rotten choices, losing both his chain of dealerships and his wife Nancy (Susan Sarandon). About to emerge on the far end of middle age, Ben's turned into a relentless hound dog, bedding almost every young girl he can and aimlessly bouncing between the people in his life who still put up with him, including his long-suffering daughter Susan (The Office's Jenna Fischer). Ben's a total bastard, but you kind of love him anyway, and you love watching him fall completely to pieces over the course of Solitary Man.

by Ned Lannamann