Two old men, one a fiery communist, becomes friends - sort of - by sharing a bench in central park. Nat, the communist, is still fighting for the revolution with crazy schemes like marking down the prices at D'agastino's. Midge is just trying to get through life.
Walter Matthaus' Nat is terrific, funny and brave and foolhardy, reeling off stories that fall far short of reality. Ossie Davis is solid in the less flashy role of Midge, as is Amy Irving in a small but effective role as Nat's daughter.
The film does a solid job of bringing a play into the world, although the long conversations inevitably remind one that this is, in fact, a filmed play.
Director-writer Herb Gardner wrote the play A Thousand Clowns, which became one of my favorite movies, and there are similarities between the two. Both are about the uncomfortable tension between idealism and realism, and neither offers much comfort to the world's idealists. Here realism is felt most strongly in the debilitating effects of old age. Yet both films admire those who battle reality, even if the best you can ever hope for is a draw.
Walter Matthaus' Nat is terrific, funny and brave and foolhardy, reeling off stories that fall far short of reality. Ossie Davis is solid in the less flashy role of Midge, as is Amy Irving in a small but effective role as Nat's daughter.
The film does a solid job of bringing a play into the world, although the long conversations inevitably remind one that this is, in fact, a filmed play.
Director-writer Herb Gardner wrote the play A Thousand Clowns, which became one of my favorite movies, and there are similarities between the two. Both are about the uncomfortable tension between idealism and realism, and neither offers much comfort to the world's idealists. Here realism is felt most strongly in the debilitating effects of old age. Yet both films admire those who battle reality, even if the best you can ever hope for is a draw.