Set in a dull New Jersey town, this melancholic comedy from director Eric Weber follows in the tradition of films such as SIDEWAYS and AMERICAN SPLENDOR by focusing on the mid-life doldrums of disgruntled white men. Self-proclaimed loser Elliot (Joe Pantoliano) has dreams of becoming a published author, but he suffers from serious emotional and professional stagnancy. His publishing goal might not be so farfetched if he spent half as much time pursuing it as he does complaining to anyone who will listen. Set on the notion that life has dealt him a bad hand, Elliot relentlessly burdens his neighbors and friends with confessional stories about the pains of feeling inadequate. In an effort to get his work out there, Elliot whittles his life's disappointments down to depressing one-page essays, which he signs The Biggest Loser. He pays a local high-school dropout to post the essays around the neighborhood once a week. Read aloud by Elliot, these defeatist columns form the film's narration. When his old pal Richard (Boyd Gaines), who left town and became a successful Hollywood film producer, comes back to visit, Elliot finds himself scrambling to make sense of his life. Richard's presence triggers something in Elliot, and unleashes a deep-seated jealousy that has been growing for years. Over the course of Richard's tumultuous visit, Elliot, Richard, and their friends are each forced to reexamine how they measure success. While Elliot is at times an unsympathetic and unlikable character, he is very realistic, and SECOND BEST, with its honest performances, is an unglamorized study of unrealized dreams.
