Errington_92 Author! Author! was an evoking story of a Playwright manoeuvring work along with his personal live. It had the ability to convey a dramatic storyline whilst containing comedic moments to lighten the mood.Ivan Travalian (Al Pacino) is suffering from his Wife Gloria abandoning him and the children for another man. I was surprised at first by the film's dramatic tone thinking it would be more comical, however this is by no means a complaint. Pacino could certainly hold his own as a dramatic actor as he already proved in previous films. Pacino's incorporated a furiousness into his character which was counted by the passive-aggressiveness Tuesday Weld placed into Gloria's character. These performances were critical in accumulating drama within Author! Author! as it was easy to emphasise with Ivan's emotions whilst becoming infuriated with Gloria. Yet their dramatic confrontations were also comical shown in Ivan arguing with Gloria's new lover Larry. Pacino and Weld again placed their respective characteristic attributes into the scene creating an evoking scene. Yet Ivan's behaviour towards Larry broke dramatic tension as he was exceptionally funny, his threats towards him were ridiculously hilarious.Author! Author! was criticised upon release as it was claimed Ivan's relationship with his children felt contrived. This was a harsh criticism as this aspect contained many comical and heart-felt moments. Spending an evening meal with his children after Gloria deserted the family, Ivan acknowledged the situation with dry humour, "we're all depressed in this family, so we'll stay depressed". Ivan was breaking down the tension as he did when he attempted to escape with his children before gaining unwanted police attention. "I see myself on page six of the New York Post", once again using dry humour in difficult situations. Yet there were emotive scene where Ivan had to deal with the children's problems, there certainly were not contrived as one could feel an emotional bond between the characters. This emotional bond enhanced support for Ivan to keep his family together.Author! Author! was able to combine dramatic and comical aspects of life. Ivan's determination to sort out the difficulties in his life and keep his family together made him an admirable character, thus making Author! Author! an admirable film.

Julie I enjoyed this movie for what it was - a simple story about family. I found that it offered nothing unique it terms of plot, acting, etc. The on-again-off-again relationship between Ivan and his wife was unconvincing to me. I could not understand their motivations each time that they changed their opinion of each other, making the characters a little less believable. Also, I was expecting the movie to be funny - which it was not. Other than that, I enjoyed watching it for the nice sense of a strong family (even if it's a bit contrived) and how they handle adversity. I would not watch this film again, nor would I go out of my way to see it. However, if you have nothing better to do, and you just want to sit down, not think a whole lot, and be mildly entertained, then this is the movie for you.

Travis_Bickle01 The only reason I saw this movie, was because Al Pacino was starring in it. I'm a huge fan of him and I don't want to miss any of his movies. "Author! Author!" is a highly enjoyable comedy-drama about a family guy and his many kids. Al Pacino plays a writer of stage plays who is dealing with some personal problems with his wife which also affects his writing.Of course, "Author! Author!" isn't the best Al Pacino movie ever made, but it's certainly worth watching. This movie was a pleasant surprise. The director Arthur Hiller has also directed the timeless romantic classic "Love Story" with Ryan O'Neal. I think Al Pacino was worth his Golden Globe nomination.Fine and well acted comedy-drama.7,5/10

Howlin Wolf Even "Cruising" suited you better than this, and I naively thought that was you hitting rock-bottom. I suppose had I glanced at the respective CV's of both the writer and director before viewing, that should have been enough to give me a slight clue (Pacino teams with writer of "See no Evil, Hear no Evil"- Yeah, I can see why that somehow won't be on any re-release posters!); but nothing could have reasonably prepared me for the mind-numbing awfulness that is this film.The synopsis I read promised something of a 'comedic' turn from the esteemed leading man; Sure, if 'comedic turn' is a handy insider euphemism for 'rancid heap of vomit-inducing mush'... ... It's criminal to see such a talented performer marooned in a vehicle so abject as this; a picture that even an individual noted for their generosity in spirit would shrink away from and crawl fearfully back to watching 'sitcom-lite'. It's so bland that this colourlessness becomes an insulting element in itself. What meagre humour there is is so desperate to generate any kind of reaction that it resorts to mining attempted chuckles from child-abuse, of all topics. Not just edging toward, but apparently happily camped in 'distasteful' territory, I'm sure most of you will agree... This kind of trash deserves the misfortune of a Z-grade celeb saddled with 'headlining' it - not the finest actor of his generation. If you've ever had a burning, deeply shameful and dirty desire to see Al Pacino in a "Home Alone" flick; don dark glasses to rent this, watch it ONCE only and then commit yourself to good deeds for the rest of your natural days. Or failing that, just 'commit' yourself! Dreck like this is mercifully likely the closest our society will come to the realisation of such a hideous nightmare; until Satan decides to sublet Hell as a skating rink, that is!I'm convinced this title is a hidden subliminal insert from a worried distributor, drawn from the wailing of a traumatised audience member dragged raving from a test-screening. His mostly incoherent babble was meant as the beginning of a tirade against the scripter for being so callously inhumane as to subject him to this utter pap.I refuse to believe that "Revolution"; the film that kept Al Pacino away from our cinema screens for four years (85-89), can possibly be any worse than this; but shudderingly I think that I might once have possessed the brashness to say the same about "Cruising" when THAT review was in genesis, too... Imagine waking in the morning to the horrified surprise of finding a neighbour had laid a bowel movement on your doorstep. Maybe this will help you to partially assimilate my reaction as I sat and watched "Author! Author!" unfold before my disbelieving and silently weeping eyes. Thus I know not to so casually prejudge "Revolution" before I see; because until this morning I thought I'd see nothing more heinous from Pacino than "Cruising"... It was a brighter world at that time, untainted by such pure evil in celluloid form - but alas, now my relative innocence has been snatched away from me, and I have experienced the toxicity of some things that writers and directors are capable of dredging up from the fetid cesspools that must surely constitute their minds...Run now, while you can. Save yourselves from such a pile of insipid garbage. A klaxon-call if ever there was one, and you can quote me on it, if you wish...1/10.