Harry and Tonto Reviews

When his comfortable New York City apartment building is torn down, 72-year-old widower and retired college professor Harry (Carney) temporarily moves in with his eldest son but finds his daughter-in-law less than enthusiastic. Perhaps inspired by his grandson, Norman (Mostel, son of Zero), who is currently immersed in Zen philosophy, Harry decides to postpone his search for new lodgings to fulfill a lifelong ambition to travel across the country to California. With his beloved cat Tonto, Harry hits the road, planning to stop and visit his other children--Shirley (Burstyn), a daughter who lives in Chicago, and youngest son, Eddie (Hagman), who lives on the West Coast. During his journey, Harry encounters several situations that cause him to examine what life means to him. HARRY AND TONTO is a sweet, sentimental road movie that draws force and relevance from Carney's touching and subtle performance. Incredibly, after nearly 25 years on television, this was the actor's first major feature film role. In HARRY AND TONTO writer-director Mazursky shows the innocence of youth and the disappointment of middle age but offers solace in old age if the internal energy that once produced ambition is rediscovered and prompts us to hope for better things to come.