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Such a frustrating disappointment

Excellent adaptation.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Jackie Gleason, in his final film role, plays the icy, stonewalling father of a hyperactive, professional Tom Hanks. There's a good message at the core of this one, about the impenetrable veneer expected of men from his generation and the dire effects it bore on those around him. Hanks, a smooth-talking corporate '80s ad exec, and Gleason, a foot-to-pavement salesman struggling to deal with the end of his career, manage well with the heavy stuff while occasionally injecting a few welcome dashes of humor and sarcasm to the mix. The film is flawed, though, in its unbridled lack of restraint. Every last supporting character hints at a big, convoluted back story and many of them are halfheartedly explored. That diverts attention away from the key players and leaves us with what seems like one big, fuzzy, unfocused batch of incomplete or unfulfilling arcs. There's simply too much to keep track of, and too much time wasted with characters we don't care about. Noteworthy as the stage where Hanks showed he could be more than just a comic player, but otherwise it's too overstuffed and vague to recommend.

This movie pops up on cable every once in a long while and I tend to watch it only for the scenes with Hanks and Gleason. I really think that best scenes are when the two of them are squaring off at one another, but these scenes are really far and few between and the rest of the movie just limps along in mediocrity. This was Jackie Gleason's final movie and I think he gave a great performance. He was always a far better performer than the quality of the movies he was in. Tom Hanks was fleshing out his career at this stage with a number of forgettable movies like this one. Remember, this was during his stint of movies like "The money pit","Volunteers", and "The Burbs". NTC was no worse, and not a whole lot better, but, just like Gleason, Hanks gives better performances than a number of the movies he has been in.IN Conclusion: See this movie but concentrate on Hanks and Gleason.

In this dramatic comedy Tom Hanks plays David a successful and very happy advertiser working on a big project when suddenly his world falls apart when his mother (Eva Marie Saint) separates from his father (Jackie Gleason) ending their long marriage and leaving to him many questions about relationships and family matters. This guy realizes that he and his grumpy old father has, like the title says, nothing in common. And now David needs to find a good balance between his career, a devotion with his parents and some possible love relationships.This was Tom Hanks first attempt in a more serious film, he was very fresh in the success of "Splash" and wanted a serious role without losing his comedian moves. The screenplay didn't help him much because created something in the between that took too long to develop, be interesting, be funny and serious at the same time. The story is good but it never reaches the perfect potential, it's a almost get there movie. It is effective on the drama level, in the comedy sometimes works (the "2001: A Space Odyssey" reference used when David mets his new office was hilarious), other times it is very difficult to follow the proposition of the writers and director Garry Marshall. I enjoyed the conflicted drama between Hanks and Gleason and Saint; the reason of why David's parents didn't work out and some family secrets were presented in a good tone, nothing so melodramatic and the result in the ending was very satisfactory and kind of surprising I must say. I won't tell much but the things between the couple gets unsolved and that works brilliantly here because it was a realistic alternative, very surprising and escaped the Hollywood happy cliché. On the comedy side one of the biggest moments here is when Hanks presents his final advertising project along with his colleagues creating a interesting and original presentation where he read the presentation cards explaining the commercial and his colleagues start singing/dubbing all the characters of it. Hanks was good, Gleason in his final film role was very good (towards the ending mostly) and Eva Marie Saint is always a pleasure to watch her (her only scene with Gleason is touchy). The movie also includes Tuesday Weld, Barry Corbin and Hector Elizondo in effective supporting roles. The soundtrack is very 1980's and good to hear it, featuring two main songs (one performed by Christopher Cross and other by The Thompson Twins) and many other good songs. Just because it's not so great that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. Despite the fact that it was a box-office failure and the ratings here are so low, this underrated movie deserves a better view. 8/10

This is a great movie. It combines several emotional aspects of the human condition. Classic Tom Hanks humor, emotionally touching realism as well as some serious drama.Over the years since it was released I have watched this dozen's of times. I never get tired of it. I am moved as David Basner is forced to face the reality of his parents divorce and tries to build an individual relationship with each of his parents.I think this is much better than Splash, probably on par with BIG. Of course, just about anything with Tom Hanks is great simply because he is able to carry the load.