See The Extra Man In Your Home Before You Can See It In Theaters

Magnolia Pictures is releasing The Extra Man, a new indie comedy starring Kevin Kline and from the writers of American Splendor and Bored to Death, in theaters July 30th. However, if you don't have a good artsy theater in your neck of the woods, you can see the movie right in your living room this Friday. Magnolia is giving The Extra Man a head start on VOD, Vudu, Amazon, XBOX Live, and Playstation. You can click over to the official site for details.

Based on a novel by Bored to Death creator Jonathan Ames, The Extra Man was adapted by Ames and the American Splendor writing/directing team of Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman. Kline stars as an eccentric playwright who also serves as a "social escort" for wealthy Manhattan widows. He befriends a young man who moves into his spare room, and the two soon embark on all sorts of droll, well-mannered adventures. We've got the trailer, plot description, and several stills for you below (including a shot of a very shaggy John C. Reilly). Sounds like it could be fun, depending on your tolerance for highbrow quirk.

The Extra Man follows Louis Ives (Paul Dano), a lonely dreamer who fancies himself the hero of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. When a deeply embarrassing incident forces him to leave his job at an exclusive Princeton prep school, Louis heads to New York City to make a fresh start. He quickly finds a 9-to-5 job at an environmental magazine, where he encounters an entrancing, green-obsessed co-worker Mary (Katie Holmes).But, what really sparks Louis’ imagination is his new home life. He rents a room in the ramshackle apartment of Henry Harrison (Kevin Kline), a penniless, wildly eccentric and brilliant playwright. When Henry¹s not dancing alone to obscure music or singing operettas, he¹s performing ¬ with great panache -- the duties of an "extra man," a social escort for the wealthy widows of Manhattan high society. The two men develop a volatile mentorship, which leads to a series of urban adventures -- encountering everything from a leaping lion to a wildly jealous hirsute neighbor to drunken nonagenarians to a shady Swiss hunchback.Along his exploration into the heart of New York City, Henry and Louis have unexpected influences on each other and form a memorable bond that bridges their differences.

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