Jonathan Ames’ writing is reminiscent of alt-cartoonist Ben Katchor, in that both men pay homage to the quirks and vanishing institutions of a major metropolis. The difference is that Katchor’s visions are largely fictional, while Ames tends to explore real spaces. Much like the Ames-anchored HBO series Bored To Death, Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman’s adaptation of Ames’ 1998 novel The Extra Man is trivial, yet oddly ingratiating, largely because of its fascination with distinct breeds of New Yorker. Paul Dano plays a demure Jersey fop who answers an ad and becomes roommates with Kevin Kline, a dapper Manhattanite who knows all the tricks about how to live a life of luxury on a pauper’s income. Kline knows how to sneak into the opera, and how to get invited to fancy parties, where he can serve as lively company to wealthy widows. He’s also possibly gay, though he claims to find all forms of sexual deviance—and indeed sex itself—distasteful.