Midlife disappointment becomes a problem in much the same way as bankruptcy overtook Mike Campbell in “The Sun Also Rises”—gradually, then suddenly.
Jim Gaffigan is an inspired choice to play its flabby, saggy embodiment in the quirky dramedy “Linoleum,” in which he plays a frustrated, 50-something children’s television-show host who is beginning to agree with everyone around him that his existence hasn’t added up to much.
Mr. Gaffigan is a sneakily brilliant stand-up who deserves more opportunities to shine on the big screen.
I wouldn’t cast him as Batman or Thor, but in the small subset of movies that remain centered on characters much like ourselves, he is underutilized.
With his body-by-Pillsbury shape and his aura of being woefully familiar with defeat, he makes for a much more convincing option as an aggrieved Everyman than, say, George Clooney .