Perfect cast and a good story
... View MoreOne of my all time favorites.
... View MoreThis is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
... View MoreBy the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
... View MoreAbbie (Billy Crystal) is a surgeon who just had a heart attack. On his on again off again girlfriend Lisa (JoBeth Williams)'s insistence, he visits his estranged father Abe (Alan King). Abe is a failed actor/extra who is slowly suffering from dementia.Henry Winkler directs this movie. He doesn't really have any vision or style. All he does is just turn on the camera and let the actors go. And that's what Alan King does. He's manic. He's powerful. Billy Crystal is playing the angry young man trying to reconnect with his crazy father.The pace is slow and cumbersome. The jokes come fast and deliver flat. Everybody is grumpy. I hoped the movie to be better. I'm pulling for them. But Crystal is just too grumpy.The stuff about being an extra just doesn't ring true. It may seem right if you don't think about it. But if an extra keeps causing trouble, he'd be quickly kicked off the set.
... View MoreI kind of feel that Billy Crystal did this film in part to get closure with his father (who died when Billy was 15). It's an amazingly good film and shows off the depth of acting Billy Crystal and Alan King can do. They played very well off of each other in this movie.It's always nice to see JoBeth Williams on the screen, who I've always thought was scrumptious. A number of the extras who work with Alan King are extras who you've seen in films forever. **SPOILER** Whenever I tell people about this, I tell them about the recurring question Billy Crystal asks his father: "Don't you feel like a putz?" The final punchline of the joke is a classic. (If you haven't seen the film, I'm not going to reveal that much--it's very moving and has even made me think of something similar.)Go see it. You'll sniffle and laugh throughout.
... View MoreWhile the story has been told before and perhaps better,(notably Jack Lemmon in "Dad" ) this story of a father and son coming to terms with their relationship after the father learns he is terminal, is worth a look.Alan King gives a wonderful performance in the role of the father. His scene in the casting director's office near the end of the film is worth the video rental itself. Perhaps a little overdone, but it summed up his life and career. Billy Crystal ostensibly plays the straight man, something he rarely if ever has done.
... View MoreOkay, the movie really isn't that good but it really does make me wail like a newborn. It's the whole father/son relationship thing that works in this film. I'm not a big fan of Billy Crystal but he's okay in this. Alan King is the real star and he shines pretty bright. Give it a chance.
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