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Second Best

The book Second Best was made into the movie Second Best.

Which one did you like better, the book or the movie?  There are 4 votes for the book, and 4 votes for the movie.

Book details for Second Best

Second Best was written by David Cook. The book was published in 1993 by Faber and Faber Ltd. More information on the book is available on Amazon.com.

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Movie details for Second Best

The movie was released in 1994 and directed by Eric Weber (III). Second Best was produced by Velocity / Thinkfilm. More information on the movie is available on Amazon.com and also IMDb.

Actors on this movie include Joe Pantoliano, Boyd Gaines, Peter Gerety, Bronson Pinchot, Matthew Arkin, Jennifer Tilly, Stephen Bogardus, Barbara Barrie, Polly Draper, James Ryan (VII), Stephen Sable, Damian Young, Melody Pantoliano, Irma St. Paule, Frank McCombs, Jacob Weber, Patricia Hearst, Fiona Gallagher, Marcella Lowery and Richard Barnes.

 

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Elliot Kelman (JOE PANTOLIANO) is a failed publishing executive who can't get back into business. He supports himself selling suits at the local mall and relies on hand-outs from his mother, ex-wife, and son. He also self-publishes a weekly newsletter on ... Read More
Elliot Kelman (JOE PANTOLIANO) is a failed publishing executive who can't get back into business. He supports himself selling suits at the local mall and relies on hand-outs from his mother, ex-wife, and son. He also self-publishes a weekly newsletter on the perils of self-delusion. Afraid his writings will be rejected, he hires a high school kid to post them on supermarket bulletin boards and stuff them under windshields in his New Jersey hometown.

After he meets the sexy Carole (JENNIFER TILLY) and his newsletter begins to find an audience, things start looking up for Elliot. However, the return home of his oldest friend Richard (BOYD GAINES), a prominent movie producer, and the only one of his friends to have found success, brings Elliot's feeling of inadequacy and squandered potential back to the surface. With Richard in town, the competitive tensions rise, and once Carole takes an interest in his friend, Elliot must confront his envy of Richard's success and his disenchantment with his own failure.

Second Best is a dark comedy that offers insight into men's expectations of success, financially, sexually and otherwise, and provides a glimpse into what men actually talk about when women aren't around. This is a film that explores how a generation of men who were expected to achieve their dreams can ultimately overcome the reality of falling short of them.