Post by kijii on Dec 24, 2020 18:13:12 GMT
Harry (Carney) is a retired teacher in his 70s living in the Upper West Side of New York City, where his late wife and he raised his children, where he's lived all of his life. When the building, in which he lives, is torn down to make way for a parking garage, Harry and his beloved cat Tonto begin a journey across the U.S., visiting his children (Burstyn and Hagman), seeing a world he never seemed to have the time to see before, making new friends, and saying goodbye to old friends.
This was a revisit after many years, and I really liked re-watching it a again. I live in the wrong country to know anything about Art Carney, and didn't know anything about The Honeymooners and all that, he was a fresh, but old, face to me.
This is a wonderful movie, even if you don't like cats, and interesting to see how America looked like in the early 1970's, not just New York but also Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. It's interesting to see how the Harry character adapts and matures the more he sees and learns, and that farewells is not sentimental, but mature meetings and let's go on with our lives in our own ways of life after we parts.
If this was actually written as a vehicle for an aged Jack Benny, I can now see a few hints that could have worked for his kind of comedy in a few scenes.
There is a Christmas connection in this movie, once Harry comes to Los Angeles and Santa Monica one can see Christmas decorations, but nothing whatsoever is mentioned about it, the decorations just happens to be there.
Art Carney won an Oscar, and the screenplay was nominated. Tonto was played by at least two cats.
Great film isn't ii?