Kevin Kline, Paul Dano in 'The Extra Man'

The Manhattan of "The Extra Man" is of an indeterminate age and era, but so are the characters who inhabit this bittersweet, froth-topped comedy from writer-directors Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman ("American Splendor").

Henry Harrison (Kevin Kline), the movie's less-than-flourishing, would-be socialite with views "to the right of the pope," might have been a subordinate player in a Noël Coward play. His young protégé, Louis Ives (Paul Dano), dressed in shirt and tie, exists in a bubble of his own anachronistic neuroses. Both get around town by private automobile, and the city acquiesces. They are extraordinarily eccentric yet timeless characters, whose interaction is the stuff of amusement, and tenderness.

Based on the Jonathan Ames novel, "The Extra Man" strikes a few false notes, notably a resoundingly weird one rung by John C. Reilly, whose falsetto reading of Henry's oddball neighbor Gershon is simply ludicrous. Katie Holmes' turn as Louis' co-worker at the eco-zine where he finds ill-suited employment as an ad salesman is enchantment-free.

As Henry, who escorts older wealthy women to dinner and the opera (territory covered by Woody Harrelson in 2007's "The Walker"), Kline exhibits an abundance of savoir faire, and his usual penchant for taking the least likely roles available to him. But it's Dano who steals the movie, inhabiting Louis with affection, consistency and respect for his peculiarities - which include an unresolved relationship with cross-dressing. Dano has been good before (notably in "Little Miss Sunshine" and "The Good Heart"), but with the exception of the glorious Marian Seldes as one of Henry's "dates," he's easily the best thing about "The Extra Man."