For a while now Dustin Hoffman has been trying comedy on for size, most familiar lately in romantic comedies like Last Chance Harvey or the voice of Master Shifu in Kung Fu Panda. But now it may be none other than Paul Giamatti who helps Hoffman get back to his dramatic indie roots. Hoffman will play Giamatti's father in Barney's Version, and though it's Giamatti who seems to be playing the juicier character, Hoffman has never exactly been known to stick to the sidelines.

Richard J. Lewis, who has mostly recently directed a bunch of CSI episodes, will be helming the film, with a screenplay adapted by Michael Konyves. According to Variety, the story--adapted from Mordecai Richler's novel-- follows the title character Barney over several decades of his crazy life, which includes three marriages, two children, and a strange run-in with the law.

Giamatti has been oddly absent from the knock-'em-out roles since the double bill of American Splendor and Sideways earlier in the decade. I guess he's the kind of guy who really needs the right of role to come along, and this one sounds like it could be a doozy. Plus, seeing him and Hoffman spark off each other is something none of us will want to miss.