Tribute

A beautiful film. Mind you it's a simple film, but a beautiful one and it introduces us to some of Jack Lemmon's best work. By this time, Lemmon was a Hollywood legend. He'd been playing young romantic leads and comic goofs, now was time when he truly started challenging himself and his craft. His Oscar nomination, I would imagine came about because of the end of the film. As Scottie Tempelton slowly walks onto the stage, after a battle with sickness and possible death, he looks on into the audience to find his son and it's one of the most touching moments I have ever experienced. When he yells his son's name and he says that wonderful line "Give me a kiss...right here!" And taps his cheek slowly. As the son goes in to kiss his cheek, Scottie quickly turns and it becomes a kiss on the lips. The moment is so lovely that it's hard to put into words the feelings I have. It was a very special moment for me. Lemmon's performance in this film is very special to me.

Jack Lemmon learns he is dying and tries to finally connect with his son (played by Robby Benson), whom he pretty much abandoned when he left his ex-wife, Lee Remick. A man who has no real close relationships, he is loved by many acquaintances because of his outrageousness, his carefree attitude, his one-liners and clownish cut-ups; in short, he is "a crowd-pleaser," as someone in the film calls him. For all his love of life (and women) that comes through to the viewer, this is also one of the most depressing films I have ever seen. I have seen hundreds of films and seen a lot of somber, serious, and/or downbeat movies, and this was painstakingly real in its depiction of loneliness, regret, and in facing death. In fact, that night I dreamed of Jack Lemmon, and I never dream of movie stars. Having said that and also that this film may be flawed, I would watch this again, I think. Jack Lemmon gives another great performance and deservedly received an Oscar nomination for it. There is no real plot save for his trying to connect to Robby, whose character is unusually "old" for a boy his age, and truthfully whose mannerisms reminds me of someone I know. There is an array of supporting characters to lighten up the mood, including Kim Cattrall and an unusual nurse. "Tribute" is a special film about real people who are trying to reach out before it's too late.

I am bias though because He is my uncle Andy!! I loved him and miss him much these days since his passing. He was a great Actor and loved his craft.He was just starting to get noticed when he died. He did a lot for Canadian Television. My Uncle Andy worked with some great Classic Actors like David Niven. He told me once that Acting was one of the greatest freeing of the soul. and that it gave him great joy! He also had a great love for the theater. He said that true actors never want to be a star they just want to be part of the process. A good actor is a en-sable actor. Its the group that make the greats.

Jimmy Burgess

I'm a big fan of Jack Lemmon's dramatic roles but not this one. The movie is about Lemmon and his estranged son played by Robby Benson, who has a deep hatred for his father. After learning Lemmon is dying, Benson tries to make thing right with his father. 125 minutes of Benson talking about how bad of a father Lemmon was, combined with Lemmon's corny jokes, does not not equal a good movie

I saw Tribute back when it first came out and i found it to be a great movie for me. I was only 22 then, but all my friends told me that i was very much like Scottie Templeton. He was so outgoing and wanted everyone to like him almost too much. But as the movie went on it became sadly obvious that he forgot to get his priorities straight. His family. Now that i am almost 50 (his age), i also have a son who is so much different to me. Just like Judd (Robbie Benson) in the movie. I can relate to both of their roles now even more as my son is very much like Judd. The thing that i got out of this movie was that i was able to make my son my first priority, no matter how different he may be to me. My favourite line was when Jack Lemmon was told in a nice way that "he treats everyone the same, no matter if you are a hooker or family'....that was it for me. Thanks Mr Lemmon and Mr. Benson for letting me better understand who i am today!!