Nobody's Fool

source: Nobody's Fool

A slice of life from Smalltown, USA, where everyone seems connected to everyone else. Bittersweet and comical in turns with first-rate performances all round, particularly and as usual from Newman, and from Willis, a million country miles from Die Hard and Armageddon. The ensemble cast is top-notch and propel the tale through the ups and downs of Newman's character's attempts to come to terms with - and redeem himself from - a wasted life in which he took no part in the upbringing of his son and in which, we suspect, he flitted from job to job, home to home and woman to woman. Nobody's Fool is a classic slice of Americana and, in its category, unsurpassed. One of the best films of the nineties and one enjoyable to watch again and again and again, for the acting, for the dialogue and for its warmth. Don't miss this one.

Robert Benton has signed another masterpiece with this touching, refined and profound movie. The acting deserves tons of Oscars (Jessica Tandy and Paul Newman are amazing: the latest is acting one of his best roles). The support characters are excellent, so is the beautiful cinematography, the delightful dialogs and the screenplay. You OUGHT to watch this very underrated movie, woefully unknown. There is nothing cheesy about this aging man working on little odd jobs to make a living. He is known and tenderly loved by all his neighbors, even by his enemies. He is not flawless but has got a kind of wisdom through the simplicity of his life and through his attempt to correct the mistakes of his past. The character really grows on you so is this unpretentious art film.

Sure, he's done a lot of other huge movies and lived a full life as a racing driver and a working philanthropist, but to me none of his work in the movies or on stage compares to this perfect swan-song film of 1994, Nobody's Fool. The nice thing about movies is that to appreciate them you only have to receive them: who cares how they come about or who makes it possible? (Tho of course we do care.) What distinguishes Nobody's Fool—not to mention it is literally Jessica Tandy's final film—is how the lead character Donald 'Sully' Sullivan is more like Paul Newman, the real person, than any other he's done (IMHO). ... For my complete review of this movie and for other movie and book reviews, please visit my site TheCoffeeCoaster.com. Brian Wright Copyright 2008

Newman is acting just perfectly in this small town movie in his role as a 60 years old man who has not achieved much in his life, but begins to realize this when his son, whom he hasn't seen since he left his family, shows up with his kids, Newman's grandsons. The complicated (or maybe not so complicated) married life of Willis and Griffith add to the plot. Some quite witty scenes and lines make you laugh heartily, although the film's general tone is more on the serious side.

This movie has to be Paul Newman's most enjoyable, best acted, and heartwarming movie. Everyone works very well together, and give great performances(with the exception of Melanie Griffith, who thank god only had a small role!). Many heartwarming scenes between Newman and his Grandson. Also some funny moments(especially when Newman kept on steeling Bruce Willis' snowblower. This is a great movie to watch if you like Paul Newman or anyone else in the cast, or just like heartwarming films about family. ****1/2 ot of *****

From Richard Russo's novel involving ne'er-do-well, trouble-causing construction worker in upstate New York, at odds with his smug employer over money and considering an affair with the boss's unhappy wife. Robert Benton-directed drama-lite, which he also adapted, puts the squeeze on us right from the start (with 'lyrical' shots of a small town in winter set to Howard Shore's saccharine score). It only figures that the characters are all written in the same cutesy way, and that the relationships between the people on-screen are laid out for us in maddeningly pedantic terms. Paul Newman received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor (as did Benton for his screenplay), but there isn't one sequence in the film that stretches Newman as a performer. Hardly the prestigious actors' piece many professional critics were conned into believing it was, "Nobody's Fool" is a sitcom...and a creative dead-end for all concerned. *1/2 from ****

I hate to be the one to tell you but this film is the sort of crap that Hollywood thinks is a film about "real" people ie the working class. And maybe the book, which I've not read, is about a real working class town but the film they made from it is so predictable, so covered in self-congratulatory ooze about its curmudgeonly hero and so bathed in hero-worship for Paul Newman that it becomes a Hallmark Hall of Fame special. And I like Paul. And his performance is fine but the whimsy is leaden and the "quirkiness" of the characters weighs you down with its lack of invention. For example: Has Pruitt Taylor Vince taken a patent out on his slobby slow sidekick who aches with human feeling. (see Heavy). Don't get me wrong (I'm sure you will anyway)...this is a well-made Hollywood product with good performances by all (I even thought Melanie Griffith was half-way believable) but the whole construct is made by cynical minds who want to neuter the people of this town with a treacly gloss that would have embarrassed Frank Capra. We all want to honor the memory of Paul Newman but this film is a poor memorial. Frankly I find it depressing that so many people thought this was a good film. TV has rotted your brain, people. Now go watch Hud as penance.

Paul Newman is "Nobody's Fool" in this 1994 film also starring Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Dylan Walsh and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Newman magnificently portrays Sully, a 60-year-old man living in a small town in upstate New York. He has a bad knee; he's suing his boss, the hard living Carl Roebuck (Bruce Willis) for back wages; he flirts with the boss' wife Toby (Melanie Griffith); he rents from his old school teacher Beryl Peoples (Jessica Tandy) who depends on him; he plays poker and drinks at the local bar; and he plays the Trifecta every day. When his son Peter (Dylan Walsh) comes to town, Sully has to come face to face with the man he abandoned as a child, as well as his ex-wife. (The scene where he sneaks out of her house as everyone screams at each other is a riot.) He gets to know his little grandson, bonding with him as he never did the boy's father. Sully, who in his own way has been taking care of a lot of people in town - and driving some other ones crazy - learns the importance of a family connection and what it entails. A marvelous script, a marvelous cast, great direction by Robert Benton - "Nobody's Fool" is a small movie with a big message about life. Newman portrays Sully with all of his complexities. He's more a son to Beryl than her own son. He takes care of his workmate Grub (Pruitt Taylor Vance) as he never did his own son. He is there for Toby as she talks about Carl's infidelities, but he was never there for his own wife. What's most wonderful about the script is how character-driven it is and how all its messages come out of the characters. The audience is not beaten over the head with them. When Sully speaks bitterly about his late father, he turns to Peter and says, "That's what you'll say about me when I'm gone." "You were gone, dad," Peter says. "I've already said it." Yet the two men try, without ever verbalizing that they are trying. He's there for Tandy, without a sentimental scene. Tandy is excellent as a woman who fears the loss of her independence, and fans of Nip/Tuck will get a kick out of seeing Dylan Walsh as he was 14 years ago with his mop of hair. He does very well in his role. Bruce Willis is amazing - relaxed, funny, cheating with a smile. Philip Seymour Hoffman, before stardom hit, has a hilarious role as a policeman trying to nail Sully and not having much luck. You can't really call what Newman does acting because you won't catch him doing it - he just IS Sully. He creates an unforgettable character in this must-see film.

Newman uses a lifetime of acting experience to give a burnished, affecting portrayal of Sully, a dysfunctional father and husband who is basically well-intentioned but has never been able to connect with anyone or live up to his responsibilities. His family arrives back in town and he begins the long-delayed process of reconnecting with his son and grandsons. Like "Mr. & Mrs. Bridge" of a few years back, this is a low-key, slice-of-life drama, a type of film that can be deadly dull in the wrong hands but which in this case, under director Robert Benton's guidance, and aided by a fabulous script and wonderful cast, is totally engrossing. The script is spare and lean and all the more effective for that. It never goes for heavy emotional effects, but makes its points in a powerfully understated way. The many moments of humor stand out in high relief. Excellent acting all around (this was one of Jessica Tandy's last films; also in the cast are Bruce Willis, a better actor than he is generally given credit for, and Melanie Griffith). The feeling of life in a down-at-the-heels northeast U.S. town in midwinter is superbly brought across; the movie has a real 'lived-in' atmosphere. A definite A+.