Papà, sei una frana

Taking a break from his serious roles, Al Pacino stars in this light comedy as playwright Ivan Travalian, trying to cope with putting on a play while raising his children and his son's friend. In a way, "Author! Author!" seems like the sort of movie that they just made for fun, but it's an interesting look at the vicissitudes of that particular lifestyle. It's not a masterpiece by any stretch (certainly not Pacino's best), but still worth seeing, if only to see the man known as Michael Corleone and Tony Montana doing comedy - although I doubt that you'll shout the title when the movie ends. Also starring Dyan Cannon, Tuesday Weld and Alan King.

Stupid plot, featuring adults who are 90% unbelievable, especially the wife. The kids are engaging at times, however. There is much too much about this totally contrived situation, and far too little about the theatre. Disappointing.

I had seen this movie quite a few times, and thought that Al Pacino gave a great performance. Here we see a professional playwriter Ivan Travalian struggling with his career,and he gets hit with the news his wife wants to leave;She has some heavy load to carry,the children she cannot take a responsibility for. With juggling the duties of mother and father,Ivan has his anxiety about failure;He needs a great "rave" review to have a broadway hit.

There are sensitive lines in the film that touch on Ivan's personality; I am moved to the same anger, when He tells ex-wife Gloria "we are not fish,we are people".Gloria seems to be self-centered and uncaring.Travalian also says to his biological son,Igor, "nobody wants them,Gloria doesn't want them". How can we not feel the pain in these hurting kids?

The movie was great and touched on the aspect of family and Love;Ivan has these kids of the world, and tries to make a home for them.I love this film and enjoyed it heartily.

...this is a wonderful family film! It brings back memories from seeing it when I was much younger. It really is a truly special film that demonstrates how important family, even a non-traditional family, is -- especially when we are young. It demonstrates that children are aware of what is happening arond them, despite the fact that adults don't give them much credit for being intelligent. It also shows that "family" comes in many different forms, and sometimes the best family does not include the traditional "mom" and "dad" that we expect.

Pacino's characters are always warm, intimate and personal - yes even Michael Corleone - and in this film also sensitive and kind. Here he gets to share those qualities with lucky children whose parents abandon them.

As a father, he's tough when he needs to be, tender and concerned when he's called on to be and just a big kid when he feels impelled and its appropriate. His character here, as in many of his roles is self-centered if not self-obsessed, and that can drive the adults around him bonkers when they need his attention, but he never lets the children down.

His house evolves into a kind of wayward home - a place to where his ex-wives's children return of their own will because it's the only place they feel wanted comfortable and respected. There they matter as human beings.

Pacino is a playwright and apparently a good one, but he seems less concerned with the art of his craft and more concerned with it being lucrative for the benefit of his now extended family. He's shown to be the only responsible adult in the movie and he's barely hanging on to the coat tails of sanity as it is. The children all seem to have more sense than the adults. With Pacino, they take an us against the world approach to their problems. We root for them, of course, because they're much too important to be ignored and they've got the spunk to insist that they be seen and heard.

The household has a summer camp bunk mate feel. The children have distinct and in some way opposing personalities. Each stands out as special and for the most part there is little conflict. That may be a contrivance or it could be a believable happy accident.

Tuesday Weld, Pacino's estranged wife and the mother (with different fathers) of four of the five children, is the embodiment of the enemy. A selfish, uncaring, unloving mother - oh, they're out there - but she probably also represents society on some level especially at the tail end of the me-decade 70's. Perhaps for the sake of ratings there is no direct reference to drugs or promiscuity, but it ain't a far leap to make to explain the history of the characters.

As at least one other reviewer has said, the film probably works a lot better for people who have lived the kind of life portrayed.