Undescribable Perfection

Simply A Masterpiece

Great Film overall

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

This movie was directed by Garry Marshall, who also gave us such classics and "Pretty Woman" and "Princess Diaries." It is a Garry Marshall type of movie.Tom Hanks was in his late 20s here as he plays David Basner, a very creative advertising guy who is popular with his employees and with the girls. But his life is thrown out of kilter when his parents of 36 years announce they are splitting up.Already near 70, Jackie Gleason is his dad, Max Basner, an old type salesman who brings samples to stores and takes their orders. But his time seems past and he is struggling to keep a job. Of note he died in 1987, the year after this movie was released. I remember him mostly in his comic roles in his old TV show I grew up on, but he was also a fine dramatic actor.Mom is played by still beautiful Eva Marie Saint (of 'On the Waterfront' fame) as Lorraine Basner. She married Max young, knew of his affairs, and finally after all those years is breaking off on her own.My friend Barry Corbin (we met shooting a movie in 1998 in Houston) has a good role as Andrew Woolridge, owner of an airline, looking to David and his company to develop a new advertising campaign.All-in-all a fairly typical movie for the 1980s, it is mainly enjoyable for the actors, the story itself is not particularly unique.

I've always believed, contrary to his starring in the 1988 film 'Big' that this was the film that actually launched Tom Hanks career as an actor who could tackle any role. He ran the gamut of emotions in this film, and made it all believable. He was funny, charming, and showed that he can tackle the role of a leading man in his David Basner character. It is also Jackie Gleason's swan song, and the chemistry between him and Hanks sent him off to the promised land with a flourish. Yes, it is a little dated and at times can look like a made-for-TV movie, but the dialogue and acting is spot-on.Great performances by Sela Ward and Hector Elizondo as well. This movie and its message can appeal to all generations. Do yourself a favor, watch this film, and the heartfelt performances that are given in it and you will see what I am talking about.

...and I don't think that I needed to. What I saw went nowhere. If "Nothing in Common" was supposed to be a jab at the corporate world, then it didn't work. If it was supposed to be a look at relationships, then it didn't work. If I had seen this when it first came out, then I would have thought it unfathomable that Tom Hanks would ever win even one Oscar, much less back-to-back Oscars. How could Garry Marshall, having created something so great with "Happy Days", create something so idiotic with "Nothing in Common"? As for Jackie Gleason, I heard that "The Honeymooners" was actually a rather cruel show, so it's not really any surprise that his role here is a piece of drudgery. And how could a magnificent actress like Eva Marie Saint get herself mixed up in this crap? The only reason that I stopped short of giving this movie just one star was the presence of Tom Hanks and Eva Marie Saint (plus Hector Elizondo), who can make almost any movie seem really good. But even here they have trouble doing that.Oh, and in case Eva Marie Saint is reading this: Happy Birthday, Eva! You were one of my grandfather's favorite customers in Superdrugs down in Los Angeles!

I think the movie, "Nothing in Common" was a very wonderful show, from both the perspective of the acting and writing. The evolution of the relationship between the characters of Tom Hanks and Jackie Gleason was superb. However, what also had such a high degree of meaning to me was the character development between Tom Hanks and Bess Armstrong. Most especially poignant was the romantic street scene during about the middle of the movie, as the Carly Simon song played, "If It Wasn't Love" when Hanks comes to the realization of what he was letting go..and thus begins to grow up. The eye connection between Hanks and Armstrong as she begins to peddle away toward the end of the song, says it all. No dialog was spoken at all during this scene with the exception of Ms. Simon's lyrics...very moving. Bess Armstrong was wonderful in this role, and I believe much overlooked. She was beautiful inside and out. As another great song once stated, "sometimes, the very thing you're looking for is the one thing you can't see". The movie was the greatest. The actors art seemed effortless, however, that is the sign of a professional. I highly recommend.