For many people, this bleakly comic study of a man failing to come to terms with his wife's suicide might prove insubstantial, or even distasteful. But for fans of the prodigious Philip Seymour Hoffman - who are typically forced to snack upon the occasional scene stolen from higher profile, lesser actors - Love Liza represents a three-course treat.
The scattershot screenplay, by Hoffman's younger brother Gordy, smacks of an eager writer following every hunch to its (il)logical conclusion, while first-time feature director Louiso is in possession of a light touch and an interesting eye.
Patently, only a gigantic central performance would tie this odd series of misadventures together, and Hoffman - whether funny, monstrous, angry, desperate or intoxicated - provides it, holding down a movie that is at times so slight, so elusive, that it threatens to do what Wilson's remote control plane cannot do: fly away.