In a career that's almost impossible to conceive of now, gossip columnist Walter Winchell became one of America's most widely read and heard journalists in the '30s and '40s, at one point even raising the ire of Adolf Hitler. Given such a colorful and important figure, it's strange that the HBO biopic Winchell, directed by Paul Mazursky (Scenes From A Mall, Down And Out In Beverly Hills), would make such an uncompelling case for him as a cinematic subject. Mazursky brings little to the established HBO-biopic style, gliding from incident to incident while relying on his actors, and little more, to shoulder the weight of the film. Fortunately, casting Stanley Tucci in the lead role helps considerably, as does Paul Giamatti, playing Winchell ghostwriter and biographer Herman Klurfeld. Their performances are a pleasure to watch, but never quite enough to suggest that Winchell is more worthwhile than a standard biography, or even an elegant synopsis, of its subject.