"How many of those hormones did you take?" That's what Jessica Tandy asks Kathy Bates in "Fried Green Tomatoes", and she should ask Paul Newman the same question here. Newman is a neer-do-well that can't seem to do anything right, yet he's got a lot of people on his side. Tandy is his old elementary school teacher, landlady and confidante whose powerful son runs the local bank and despises Newman. Melanie Griffith is the estranged wife of Newman's obnoxious boss who can't pay him. Josef Sommer is Newman's one-legged attorney who is there for each dumb thing that Newman does. When Newman's estranged son and family come for a visit at Thanksgiving, Newman has a chance to make amends and get to know one of his grandsons, especially after his son's wife leaves him.
This is more of a character study with multiple stories about how what people see in you is not always true. Newman's character may be flawed, yet he is filled with a wisdom that he, himself, is unaware of. It takes these circumstances to make him aware and remain who he is while becoming a better man in the process. There are some nice character bits (particularly Margo Martindale as a local bartender and Philip Seymour Hoffman as an idiot cop with resentment towards Newman). The gratuitous cursing, nudity and vulgarity is unnecessary yet fortunately brief. Focus on the hidden wisdom in the script and ignore the rest.
This is more of a character study with multiple stories about how what people see in you is not always true. Newman's character may be flawed, yet he is filled with a wisdom that he, himself, is unaware of. It takes these circumstances to make him aware and remain who he is while becoming a better man in the process. There are some nice character bits (particularly Margo Martindale as a local bartender and Philip Seymour Hoffman as an idiot cop with resentment towards Newman). The gratuitous cursing, nudity and vulgarity is unnecessary yet fortunately brief. Focus on the hidden wisdom in the script and ignore the rest.