| Newman's Own |  |
Paul Newman is nobody's fool. When he picks a good project, he shines. And shine he does in this film, though quietly and with confidence.
Donald Sullivan (Newman) walked out on his wife and young son years before and has been living pretty much hand to mouth in a small upstate NY town. When he can get work, it's usually doing construction chores for the scummy and philandering Carl Roebuck (Bruce Willis). The rest of the time, he shamelessly flirts with Roebuck's wife Toby (Melanie Griffith) and the two fantisize about running away to Hawaii together. He also helps out his eighth-grade teacher, Miss Beryl (Jessica Tandy, in her final role) who rents him a room in her home.
The local bar is his second home where he schmoozes and plays poker with his old attorney Wirf (Gene Saks) whose sole work seems to be defending Sullivan on traffic charges and attempting to win Sully's employee compensation cases.
When Sully's grown son Peter (Dylan Walsh) is broken in a divorce, he moves to town with one of his young sons. Suddenly Sully is faced with answering why he abandoned his son so long ago and tries to learn how to be a good father and grandfather.
Directed by Robert Benton.
1995 Academy Award Best Writing Adapted Screenplay nominee
1995 Academy Award Best Actor nominee: Paul Newman
Rated R for some language and nudity.
My personal rating: A-
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