Un fils pour l'été

"Tribute" stunk to high hell. Jack Lemmon is capable of brilliant work but he can be lousy when he goes too far over the top with slapstick humor (loved that chicken suit, Jack) and I defy anyone who doesn't need serious help to watch the last scene without groaning audibly and reaching for a barf bag. This continually annoying and exasperating ode to putrid schmaltz contained all the phony, forced emotions that the likes of Aaron Spelling made famous with such horrible TV shows as "Loveboat." In addition, the actor who played Lemmon's son was such a vile little creep that we actually hoped someone would run him over, yet we were supposed to care that his dad never gave him enough personal attention. By the way, was the girl who gave this jerk a tumble just a tad too sugary and sunny for words and are we seriously supposed to believe that she would stick around for dose after dose of his whiny nonsense? How's about the whore with a heart of gold? Do you know of any prostitutes who get thrown surprise parties hosted by all their satisfied johns? How frigging ridiculous. And was that woman doctor a total pain, or what? At the conclusion, when Lemmon smooched his "son" full on the mouth and then dropped his pants, the reaction shots (especially hers) were just plain sick. This one was a real stinkeroo, a 'tribute' to phony emotions, bad acting, and a rotten script. Don't bother unless you need an emetic.

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.

"Tribute" is a wonderful tear-jerker about a father and his estranged son. Benson is good, though his character may be a bit over-the-top cynical. But as usual, Jack Lemmon provides a textbook example of acting without seeming like he's acting, the mark of a great performer.

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!!

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