Nothing in Common - Sie haben nichts gemeinsam

The film begins with a barrage of wit from Tom Hanks as an adman whose business is creativity. And indeed why should he not be witty? But then we meet his father, who is on his way to dying the death of a salesman, and his father is just as brilliantly witty. The lines just aren't lines that ordinary people could come up with. Everyone is a little too quick with the comedy, and when the comedy pauses, everyone is a little too quick to come up with the deep but gracefully phrased emotional revelations. And yet the movie is long; though most of the large cast of characters is quite undeveloped, still the script has a mighty load of relationships: Hanks with his father, Hanks with his mother (not so much), Hanks with two different girlfriends, the father with the mother, Hanks with his boss, and Hanks with the big client. The big client is perhaps the worst: the stereotype of the big blowhard who is charmed when you call him a big blowhard to his face.

I think there were two movies here: the one about the workplace, with a little subplot about the father; and the one about the father, with a little subplot about the workplace. I suspect, with no huge evidence, that someone had an emotional investment in not leaving material out. Some of the details have the ring of autobiography.

Several big talents appear in the movie: not only Jackie Gleason, Tom Hanks, and Eva Marie Saint but also Hector Elizondo and, in a tiny role, Dan Castellaneta. Nobody does anything here that he hasn't done better elsewhere, but still it's good to see them all.

Tom Hanks had been around for a few years before "Nothing in Common", but it was this film that really showed how great he could be as an actor. He stars as a high-class advertising executive whose life is turned upside down when his elderly parents (Jackie Gleason and Eva Marie Saint) get divorced. While Saint adjusts and becomes happy with her life, it seems that Gleason just becomes more angry. On top of this, his health quickly worsens. While Hanks is working with Barry Corbin and daughter Sela Ward on a big advertising deal, it seems that Gleason's diabetic condition is becoming a real problem. Gleason has basically upset everyone so much that everyone has given up on him and do not even know about his condition. Hanks proves to be the only one that Gleason can count on in the end. The relationship between Hanks and Gleason makes "Nothing in Common" a somewhat forgotten treasure from the 1980s. Tom Hanks proved that he could handle delicate material and even mix it with smart comedy. All the players are great as well. Along with all the aforementioned actors, Hector Elizondo and Bess Armstrong do good work as well. The screenplay is solid and the direction is focused throughout. 4 stars out of 5.

NOTHING IN COMMON (1986) ***1/2 Tom Hanks, Jackie Gleason, Hector Elizondo, Eva Marie Saint, Sela Ward, Bess Armstrong, Barry Corbin. Garry Marshall's winning serious comedy about ad exec Yuppie Hanks who faces the inevitable: caring for his at odds parents including separations, ageism and finally acceptance. Warm and slyly comic turn by Hanks with some great moments. Armstrong is adorable and Ward is sexy (just needed to state this for no other apparent reason). Best moment: Hanks telling off bullying client Corbin.

Someone mentioned about last night, which they also hated, well its the opposite for me. I was around the ages of the main characters when both these came out and liked both of them. In this movie, you sorta see the early goofy (but very Funny) Tom Hanks doing his transition to the more serious Hanks as the movie goes on. And pretty much was his last real comedy role. Hanks does his usual funny shtick and it works well. And Gleason is great, and sad as an aging ex great sales rep, trying to hang on to his cust. as a changing world leaves him without a place. And the divorce of Hanks Parents thrown in sorta makes this a bittersweet comedy. Overall, its a good movie.

The story line is pretty straight forward, and the production was good, especially considering the 80's style of movie making. But Tom carries the movie, with his now-classic mix of rapier wit, sarcasm, and charming humor.

Tom play David Basner, a talented, slightly arrogant Chicago ad-exec whose parents just split after 50+ years of marriage. Though he has left "the nest" and views his parents as a necessary evil to be dealt with as little as possible, he finds himself providing ever-increasing support to each parent, all the while discovering the frailty and human side of each of them, and discovering what his priorities should be.

A definite watch