Nothing in Common Reviews

Unfortunately, the title is prophetic. This picture is two halves that don't have anything in common. The two halves are both good pictures, but they just don't seem to fit. David Basner (Tom Hanks) is the ultimate yuppie, a highly successful advertising man with a great sense of humor. However, his family is falling apart. His father, Max (Jackie Gleason), is a garment salesman whose life is shattered when he loses his job. At the same time, David's mother (Eva Marie Saint) tells Max that she wants out. They've been married for 36 years and she has had it with his bitter attitude, his cantankerous ways, and his frequent retreats into silence. David tries to act as a mediator between his folks. When Max's life is threatened by a diabetic attack, melodrama creeps in. Gleason is unremittingly tough. Saint's character is given short shrift. Hanks earned every penny he was paid as he tried to satisfy the diverse requirements of the script. There are lots of laughs but just as many tears. NOTHING IN COMMON is a valiant attempt to depart from the formulas followed by most of the mindless comedies of the 1980s.