This is one of my new favorite movies. Starring Peter Falk and Paul Reiser, it's the story of a father and son who clear the air and get to understand each other while on a road trip in upstate New York. Paul Reiser also wrote and directed this movie.
Peter Falk is Sam Kleinman. He shows up unannounced at the home of his son Ben (Reiser) with a note that his wife Muriel (Olympia Dukakis) left on the refrigerator. She was leaving him after 47 years of marriage. While Ben, his wife (Elizabeth Perkins), and his three sisters try to figure out where their mother ran off to, they decide that Sam should accompany Ben on his drive to upstate New York to see a farmhouse. This one-day trip turns into a three-day journey through the small towns of upstate New York as well as a journey through their past and back again. At times the conversation turns serious and angry while they talk about, and fight about, what Sam did and did not do as a father and husband. Sam and Ben also get to know each other better while playing pool and just discussing "guy stuff".
Peter Falk may be getting up in years but he's still sharp and funny with great timing. Paul Reiser's writing is wonderful and he is great at reacting to what Peter Falk says and does. There is also the Jewish twist to the family interaction that is very familiar to me.
A wonderful movie!
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