Who liked this movie?

I know you are entitled to your opinion but I have to whole-heartedly disagree. I feel that this movie is wonderfully done and Gleason and Hanks were at their best. I liked Sela Ward too but no where near as much as you seem to as I found her part to be inconsequential. The fact that this is Gleason's last film is enough to put this movie on a high level. Gleason was incredible and you were actually convinced that Gleason was the one going through the hardships and not his character. The final scene you alluded too should be doing more for you than piquing interest as you said. The scene should move you emotionally and you should show proper respect to Gleason as he said his final line before his death. There have been several times that I've shed tears to that poignant and timeless moment when Hanks wheels Gleason. Honestly the movie could have been set anywhere and it would have worked thanks to the plot and the actors in the film. I thought this movie was glorious and I will always remember it as the perfect memorial and honor to the great Jackie Gleason.

I dunno but over time I like this movie more and more. Yes the production value is a bit 80s, but I can look past that ascpect. That scene where Hanks sees his father's foot in the bar...or the scene where Sela fires Tom...or the sccene where Eva and Jackie talk in the hospital....all of them are very emotional and well done.

Not a "great" movie, but definitely well above average.

I think the movie, "Nothing in Common" was a very wonderful show, from both the perspective of the acting and writing. The evolution of the relationship between the characters of Tom Hanks and Jackie Gleason was superb. However, what also had such a high degree of meaning to me was the character development between Tom Hanks and Bess Armstrong. Most especially poignant was the romantic street scene during about the middle of the movie, as the Carly Simon song played, "If It Wasn't Love" when Hanks comes to the realization of what he was letting go..and thus begins to grow up. The eye connection between Hanks and Armstrong as she begins to peddle away toward the end of the song, says it all. No dialogue was spoken at all during this scene with the exception of Ms. Simon's lyrics...which says it all. Bess Armstrong was wonderful in this role, and I believe much overlooked. She was beautiful inside and out. As another great song once stated, "sometimes, the very thing you're looking for is the one thing you can't see". The movie was the greatest. The actors art seemed effortless, however, that is the sign of a professional. I highly recommend.

I love this movie. It used to be part of my permanent collection until I lent it to someone and never got it back. I totally agree with your assessment of Sela Ward in this movie. She was not only drop dead gorgeous but completely believable as the cut throat Cheryl Ann Wayne who didn't want to trade on nepotism, yet used her father to manipulate David Basner to bend to her will. A great performance in a nearly forgotten film.

To this day, it is still one of my top three Tom Hanks movies, I have watched it so many times, I can recite most of the lines. This film cam along not long after Tom Hanks was in the TV show "Bosom Buddies" and truly convinced me that he was going to be one of the great Hollywood actors. I felt he nailed the part of an fast rising Chicago Jr. Ad Executive, living in a Printers Row loft, Yuppie but still a playfull kid at heart. Well written as a thirty-something trying to put some distance between himself and his parents, only to be pulled back into the family due to crisis and coming to the realization that family, in some cases, does indeed trump life. And yes, Sela Ward was, and still is a hottie........

I like this film a great deal, and many of my favorite scenes have already been singled out - especially the "If It Wasn't Love" scene - but I am surprised that in all the deserved praise for Hanks, Gleason (a much better actor than anyone ever gave him credit for), Bess Armstrong (I could never figure out why she got any work until I saw her in this), and the exquisitely lovely and very talented Sela Ward, no one has mentioned the great supporting performances of Eva Marie Saint and Hector Elizondo.

Their impact on the film lies in their ability to create such multi-layered characters despite the screenwriters not giving them much to work with. Elizondo's senior agency partner gets one terrific scene with Hanks and makes it extraordinary. He just throws away the line in response to Hankss' about perfect sons, but it's the one line I always remember from the movie. Once upon a time, I was an advertising executive, and I can tell you there's no real person in advertising like Charlie Gargas. Too bad.

And Eva Marie Saint is just luminous. She was always skilled at light comedy, and she gets into this role with practiced ease, but that's because she was a very talented actor. It's such a pleasure to watch two old pros like her and Jackie Gleason make something honest and moving out of that hospital scene.

Speaking of supporting roles, I was also about to overlook Barry Corbin (Andrew Woolridge), who someday will get his own retrospective. Just when you're about to dismiss him as another character actor with a Texas accent, he does some little bit of business that forces his characters to live and breathe.

Is this film flawed and uneven? Yes. Is it heavy-handed in too many places? Yes. Is it still worth watching? You bet.

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I watched this movie while riding an intercity bus in Mexico (with subtitles), and liked it mostly because Jackie Gleason was so good as Max Basner. Also, the film covered many realistic themes, including aging parents, unfulfilled and forced retirement, conflict, responsibility, hedonism, and, of course, sexy women.