IMDb RATING
6.3/10
5.5K
YOUR RATING
While his mom recovers in hospital from a heart attack, John puts his busy life on hold to fly home and help his elderly dad around the house. John's son later joins them and they all truly ... Read allWhile his mom recovers in hospital from a heart attack, John puts his busy life on hold to fly home and help his elderly dad around the house. John's son later joins them and they all truly bond for the first and, tragically, final time.While his mom recovers in hospital from a heart attack, John puts his busy life on hold to fly home and help his elderly dad around the house. John's son later joins them and they all truly bond for the first and, tragically, final time.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 5 nominations total
Mary Fogarty
- Gloria McCarthy
- (as Mary Fogerty)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
I think this is Jack Lemmon's greatest performance and the supporting cast are incredible, including Ted Danson who always appears to me to be slightly frenetic in a grim kind of way. Here he is truly believable and his scenes with his own son tug at your heart they are so real. No Hollywood quickfix here for the relationship, the boy is simply closer to his grandfather than he is to his own father and nothing will change that fact.
What I liked most about the film was that the theme in less worthy hands could have been made sloppily sentimental, but here it is totally restrained both in script and direction and it makes for a really meaningful movie. The characters remain real all the way through and the script does not transform them into wondrous saints by movie's end.
It is the wonderful understatement in it all that captivated me and made me weep at the end. Jack is truly unforgettable and Olympia magnificent in her dryness and cynicism. I have seen it 3 times and each time relished another scene a little more. This time around it was Jack dragging his wife around to meet the neighbours he was not even aware of before and her long suffering face at this new and reinvented Jack makes you laugh out loud. Bravo to all. An 8 1/2 out of 10. And that scene where they dance, oh me oh my......who needs naked bodies writhing on a bed, this has sensuousness, love and intimacy in it, the real kind. Oh for more of those scenes in movies!
What I liked most about the film was that the theme in less worthy hands could have been made sloppily sentimental, but here it is totally restrained both in script and direction and it makes for a really meaningful movie. The characters remain real all the way through and the script does not transform them into wondrous saints by movie's end.
It is the wonderful understatement in it all that captivated me and made me weep at the end. Jack is truly unforgettable and Olympia magnificent in her dryness and cynicism. I have seen it 3 times and each time relished another scene a little more. This time around it was Jack dragging his wife around to meet the neighbours he was not even aware of before and her long suffering face at this new and reinvented Jack makes you laugh out loud. Bravo to all. An 8 1/2 out of 10. And that scene where they dance, oh me oh my......who needs naked bodies writhing on a bed, this has sensuousness, love and intimacy in it, the real kind. Oh for more of those scenes in movies!
Genuine tear-jerker that has the elderly Olympia Dukakis falling ill and leaving husband Jack Lemmon in limbo. Dukakis has done all the work in the relationship and Lemmon is helpless, plain and simple. Son Ted Danson comes to the rescue though and Dukakis starts to recover slowly. However trouble looms as Lemmon will be diagnosed with cancer and go into an emotional tail-spin that could kill him. A sappy screenplay works to near perfection here and steady direction helps the film's cause as well. Watch for a young Ethan Hawke as Lemmon's grandson. Heart-wrenching and heart-warming at the same time. 4 stars out of 5.
This movie was one of the most sensational drama movies I have ever seen. It is so true with real-life experiences, and it is sure to touch you emotionally. It is a story about how spending all of your life chasing the almighty $dollar$ and success can certainly have great drawbacks. It is a prime example of how success should not be determined by how much money you make, but by what you have to give up in order to achieve it. In this case, it was Ted Dansen's family that was given up. This movie can be related to on a personal level with almost anyone. It is certain to bring tears to your eyes, and make you want to pick up that phone...and make those calls you have put off for so long.
Today August 12, 2008 --- Imagine I may be a little late for a comment --- but I only saw this movie today --- It was so true to life, and tapped into every emotion that one could feel -- going through an experience of the like. I lost my dad, two years ago, and although there were difference in the story line...the essence of it remained the same.....I loved it --- Jack Lemmon was so believable, Ted Danson (who I admit never saw him act outside of cheers was amazing and Olympia (she's a classic --- and so underrated)...
My opine - a must see --- for life...
Ven
My opine - a must see --- for life...
Ven
This movie hits, it hits very hard. No one is let off easy in this film about an old man (played to perfection by Jack Lemmon) who has his wife do everything for him. BUt his wife has a heart attack and is put in the hospital. His son (Ted Danson) has to return home to take care of his father. What comes from there is an adventure that will warm you heart as fast as it will break it. Jack Lemmon is very believeable as the father that you will believe that he actually is 85 years old and Ten Danson has never been better in a film. This film devlves into hard topics such as divorce, marraige and family relationships and none of these subjects are delt with lightly and is sure to bring a tear to the eye of everyone whether you can realte to these characters or not.
Did you know
- TriviaDuring the filming of Dead Poets Society (1989), the actors portraying the main high school juniors took a break to audition for this movie. Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles, Gale Hansen, and James Waterston all auditioned for the part of Billy. Dylan Kussman and Allelon Ruggiero recorded a video of the boys walking around New York City before and after the audition. Dylan later uploaded the video to YouTube in 2014.
- GoofsThis film takes place in Los Angeles in 1989 but nothing about the Tremonts' house or neighborhood look like California or any neighborhood in Los Angeles. Short of a brief beach scene that shows a couple palm trees, the entire film looks like the Northeast because it was filmed in and around Boston.
- Quotes
Jake Tremont: Dying is not a sin. Not living is.
- SoundtracksNice Dreams
Written by Joel DuBay, Jeffrey Litke & Adrian Liberty
Performed by Powermad
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.
by Arrangement with Warner Special Products
- How long is Dad?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $19,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $22,103,037
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $540,148
- Oct 29, 1989
- Gross worldwide
- $27,503,037
- Runtime1 hour 57 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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