Alan Alda plays a great bad guy

He was sooo good in this. The way he twisted the knife in his later talks with Stiller was just brutal.

I agree.

Alan Alda really made this movie for me...
played such a dislikable character...with some nasty comments.

overall better than I expected..

He's just an all-around great actor. Good guy, bad guy, whatever. He's done so many films that it's even hard to pick just one of his best roles.

He did well, I agree, but he's Alan Alda so I just couldn't hate him.

I'm Winston Wolfe. I solve problems.

Yeah, without Alda the movie would have been tedious. He played the role very well without resorting to campy villain stuff or imitating Gordon Gecko.

You believe he came from humble origins who uses that story to deceive and con people and that he truly is an elitist, greedy a-hole who cares for nothing but himself and money.

Yes, and it doesn't always work when an actor known for playing likeable or heroic characters tries to play a bad guy. But with this role (and the glory-hungry Senator in "The Aviator") Alda can successfully make you forget he was ever Hawkeye Pierce.

Finally....I was looking for a post for someone to finally point out how great Alda was in this film.

Everyone's so wrapped up on Stiller and Murphy they completely overlook how perfect a villain Alda is.

The thing I liked most about his performance was that he was believable and real. As others pointed out, he wasn't the obvious Gordon Gecko character or over-the-top greed monger. He was the Bernie Maddoff type, the down-to-earth business man who could -- as someone pointed out -- knife his words into you.

I especially loved how throughout the first half of the film I was almost convinced he really was setup. And I loved that they made Stiller's character react to this...leading the audience on as if maybe, just maybe Alda's character was in the right.

Wow, what a perfect role he pulled off here. Great stuff. Just had to drop a comment on it after seeing the movie.

Totally agree!!!