Save the Tiger (2005)

Lemmon won a Best Actor Academy Award as a Willy Loman-esque clothing-line exec undergoing a midlife meltdown in Save the Riger, an overreaching drama that touches upon such '70s hot topics as war, values, and the generation gap. Amid rounds of rage and self-pity, there's an occasional flicker of keenly observed male behavior, like a lengthy scene between Lemmon and an out-of-town client whining for a favorite prostitute. More often, as in Lemmon's bathetic podium breakdown (one of those big, acting-with-a-capital-A moments beloved by Oscar voters), the aim for naked emotional honesty feels too calculated. EXTRAS But don't tell that to screenwriter Steve Shagan and director John G. Avildsen, who seem blissfully unaware on the self-satisfied commentary that their collaboration is Miller lite.

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