HARRY AND SON (1984)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
An aged construction worker, Harry, (Paul Newman) loses his job and decides to operate a wrecking ball and destroy an abandoned building for fun. His eager and boisterous son, Howard (Robby Benson), furiously types away at his typewriter hoping to surface as an author while unable to hold a job except as an auto detailer (and barechested to boot); oh, yes, he likes to surf. The house they live in is the middle of a business park parking lot. The next-door neighbor (Joanne Woodward) is a pet shop owner who dispenses wisdom that never amounts to anything. There is a pregnant young woman (Ellen Barkin) who happens to be the pet shop owner's daughter and used to date Harry's son. Then there is the inclusion of some rather odd and numbingly indifferent characters like a businesswoman (Judith Ivey) who has orgasms when you flash a camera at her; a repo car business owner who drives away during a practice session with Howard; Harry's brother (Wilford Brimley) who owns a military surplus store and keeps some liquor nearby (everybody drinks in this movie while working); an older, unemployed man (Ossie Davis) who nearly has his car repossessed and chooses to be friends with Howard intermittently, etc. I don't mind when a screenplay chooses to connect a bunch of characters but the puzzle pieces don't hold together - you need super glue to keep some measure of connection apparent.
"Harry and Son" is a most displeasing affair to witness, a movie cobbled together out of scrap parts without an ounce of coherence. Paul Newman is such a strong, charismatic actor who can emit vulnerability when playing blue collar workers (he is
the iconic actor to play such roles) yet here, his mannerisms and body language are forced and never once believable (and he directed himself!) Same with Mr. Aggressively Sincere Robby Benson as Howard - when he yells at his dad, it comes out of nowhere because the buildup is nonexistent. When there is a truce, it is beautifully handled yet again, no real buildup.
The film sits there on the screen with no real life force dispensing imagined life lessons that exist in the screenwriters' minds - it is all on the surface with no momentum. Only Joanne Woodward gives us some semblance of reality with a delicate touch of sympathy, in addition to Ellen Barkin as the sweet pregnant woman. "Harry and Son" though is not a movie - it is a bunch of filmed snapshots.
