vincentlynch-moonoi I was never a fan of Paul Newman, but every once in a while he impressed me. On the other hand, I was (growing up) always a fan of Robbie Benson, and here -- again -- he does not disappoint.What does disappoint is the film, in general. It has quite a few good ingredients, including Newman and Benson, and certain segments are pretty interesting and decently done. Unfortunately, the separate parts of the film never quite come together as a whole.Harry is a construction worker who is having vision and neck problems, resulting in a near industrial accident that could heave been deadly; he gets fired. Looks for work, can't find any. Robbie Benson is his son who thinks he's a writer but actually details cars; he could work, but he thinks what's available is beneath him.Benson's best scene is when he and his ex-girlfriend are trying to "figure out" what happened. It's as good as any acting Benson ever did, though this is not my favorite Benson movie.The problem is that this film just sorta drifts along seemingly going nowhere. It's rather episodic, but the episodes don't seem to really fit together. The second problem is that a viewer wants to have some general idea of where a film is going...even if he or she ends up wrong. Well, here you just wonder where this film is wandering to. At least it isn't maudlin.Unfortunately, some of the highlights of the film are small supporting parts played by Ossie Davis and Morgan Freeman. Ellen Barki, Joanne Woodward, and Wilford Brimley have small, but significant roles. But the film really belongs to Paul Newman and Robby Benson, and I think more to Benson.

jjnxn-1 The narrative line of the script is scattered and seems to pick up ideas and problems and then drop them without resolution to tackle some other tangential issue. The issues all pertain to the relationship between the father and son but it would have been better to focus more on their interaction and less on exterior forces. Benson tries in the lead but just is not that strong of a screen presence especially when competing with Newman's star power. The rest of the cast is certainly talented even if what they are handed character wise is diffuse. It is interesting to see some like Freeman and Barkin who went on to long careers just starting out. Not a bad film but very average.

Michael_Elliott Harry & Son (1984) ** (out of 4) Family drama centering on father Harry (Paul Newman), a blue collar construction worker who loses his job due to an unknown illness he's suffering from. Harry has trouble trying to connect to his growing son Howard (Robby Benson) who wants to make it as a writer. The son can't keep a "real" job, which rubs his father the wrong way since he actually wants to work but is unable to. You can tell this was a labor of love for Newman who not only plays the lead but he also directed, produced and co-wrote the screenplay. If you've seen some of Newman's earlier directorial films you'll know that he can create some very touching pictures and there are glimpses of that here but sadly the end result is that HARRY & SON is a complete misfire and without question the low point in Newman's directing career. The biggest problem is without question the screenplay, which is a real mess. I think this movie is supposed to be about a father and son relationship but you'd never know that because not for a second does Harry and Howard come off as some sort of connection. The relationship between the two never really comes off as a father-son thing and another major problem is that neither character really gets a chance to grow. I'd also say that the screenplay really doesn't give us much to go on because we never fully understand their motivations. We never really know why the father is so against his son. There's a subplot with an issue between Harry and his daughter that we never fully understand. There are a wide range of characters who pop up only to either disappear or you never fully get to know who they are. Another major problem with the film is that even though it runs 117-minutes, in the current form, that's way too long as scenes just seem to drag on or the obvious just happens. I'm not sure if this was originally much longer and perhaps some of the character development had to be cut out to get it down to its current length. The one saving grace here and what keeps the film from being a major dud are the performances, which for the most part are very strong. Newman has no trouble playing the troubled blue collar worker but one wishes the screenplay would have given him a stronger character to stick his teeth in. Joanne Woodward is very good in her small supporting role as a love interest. We get other good performances from a likable cast that includes Ellen Barkin, Wilford Brimley, Ossie Davis and Morgan Freeman. The one exception to the good performances is Robby Benson who is pretty bad here. Rumor has it that he actually got this part over Tom Cruise, which is a real shame because I think that actor could have done much more. Benson is really lackluster and his rather bizarre performance makes his character more creepy than anything else. Even worse are his incredibly horrid facial gestures, which quite often make the viewer break out in laughter, which certainly wasn't the intent. HARRY & SON was overlooked when it was released and today it's only of interest to Newman fans who want to see the lower side of his career.

vchimpanzee Spoilers Harry and his son Howie live together two years after Harry's wife died. There is a daughter who got married and apparently doesn't get along with her father. Harry operates a wrecking ball but has to give up his job due to vision problems (he almost kills a co-worker; the vision problems are just a symptom of something much worse). He wants to continue working but can't find anything appropriate (He won't be a security guard and he won't work in his brother's store). Howie was a valedictorian but works in a car wash while attempting to be a writer, surfing when he is not doing one or the other. When Howie must get a real job, he doesn't have a lot of trouble because of an offer by a good-looking woman who seems to want just one thing. The job itself is not at all what Howie wants, and after he gets fired his father accuses him of being lazy and a quitter. Both father and son have potential love interests: The best friend of Harry's wife has trouble communicating her feelings for Harry, who can't see the obvious. Howie's former girlfriend is pregnant, and apparently the baby isn't his, so we are led to believe that's why they broke up, though we are never definitely told. In one funny scene (at least it was to me) Harry goes back to work in the middle of the night, on the same building he was tearing down when the movie began, waking up the neighbors. Of course he had to lie to the security guard to get to the site, and the cops bring him home. Paul Newman is very good as Harry, and in fact this is an enjoyable movie with lots of good performances. I wish I had seen more of Wilford Brimley (Harry's brother) and Morgan Freeman (Howie's boss). Father and son get along pretty well, considering everything. I suppose all families have their fights. I could have done without the profanity, which was pretty potent even after being cleaned up for TV. The opening scenes of the demolition of the building were wonderfully done; I hope at least some of the cameras were unmanned. Howie's job was also exciting to watch, with good action shots of the normal operations of the machinery and then of the chaos that follows when Howie gets involved in the process. A good time overall.