AllMovie

Writer Eric Weber (author of the infamous paperback How to Pick Up Girls) directs his screenplay Second Best. Set in New Jersey, the story concerns a group of fiftysomething men dealing with their feelings of inadequacy. Struggling writer Elliot (Joe Pantoliano) is the most desperate of the bunch, having failed in the publishing business and trying to finish writing a screenplay. The group prepares for a visit from their old childhood friend who is now a big-time Hollywood producer. Elliot hopes this visit will lead to bigger things in his own life. Also starring Boyd Gaines, Jennifer Tilly, and Bronson Pinchot, Second Best was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004 as part of the American Spectrum competition.