Nobody's Fool (1986) User Reviews

Certainly has its moments, but . . .

[stevepb · 6/10 · 11 September 2021]

There's a pretty good movie in here somewhere, but something's just not right. Whether they ran out of money, or time, or both, it has an under-developed feel about it. The situations and emotions are real and realistic but not properly explained or teased out.

I've never liked Eric Roberts in anything, and I just couldn't see any chemistry between him and Rosanna Arquette. Aside from Roberts it's a terrific cast.

It's a real shame that overall the movie just doesn't work.

Difficult to rate

[Snootz · 6/10 · 4 January 2021]

This is one of those movies that is very difficult to rate. It was made 36 years ago, so one can't judge it by modern-day criteria. Overall I didn't like the film, but that's a matter of personal taste, not because it wasn't well-made. The movie itself, for what it intends to be, is pretty solid.

The writing, directing and acting is spot-on. Some people may watch this and consider it absurd, but in truth it echoes small-town life so accurately it's scary. And while one may consider the character Arquette plays as being naive, daft and more than a little loony... perhaps we've known people just like this. Arquette nails the character right on the head. (Those who don't like Arquette because she's "too cutesy" will have a lot to complain about here. They threw that in just for you.)

As much as Arquette steals the stage, one has to give creds to Eric Roberts as the male lead. He's totally believable in his part, and the perfect counter to Arquette's acting. Add to this an entire cast of quirky people and as nuts as they all are-- how many of us recognize our family or friends (or perhaps a bit of ourselves in one of the characters?). This is a movie that as ridiculous as it is, hits too close to reality to be just a comedy.

This is basically a slice-of-life film that focuses on the character's foibles, blunders, idiocy, and in doing so perhaps touches on the audience's own such errors.

Part of me wants to rate this 8 stars for pegging its goal. But one must also relate it to other films in general, and that's the tough part. Finally I decided on 6 stars "better than average". I give it a nod of approval for successfully telling an all-too-common story in a unique, unusual presentation in which the director pulled no punches on small town life... and lands each one.

A non-formulaic plot for a change.

[rvpiano · 16 October 2004]

What I liked about this movie, besides the intriguing and beautiful Rosanna Arquette, is the way the offbeat characters relate to each other in a realistic, non predictable way that people in real life do. Roger Ebert's complaint of lack of consistency is really asking for more of the same formulaic, predictable stuff we get 95% of the time in movies. Two people who are unsure of themselves will indeed vacillate in the manner these two lovers do. This, among other things, is what sets this "love story" apart from conventional Hollywood fare. Nobody's Fool is a well acted and finely crafted movie and deserved a far better reception from the critics than it got. The number of responses on this site for a 1986 film is testimony enough.

Hip romance.

[vertigo_14 · 7/10 · 2 May 2004]

Nobody's Fool surprisingly had some very funny moments, which made this a slightly different 80's romantic comedy about small town eccentrics which has the usual formula of strange guy meeting confused girl and falling in love (though their affection is very ambiguous) and then breaking up and then falling in love again.

Rosanna Arquette plays Cassie, a young woman who's small town life is constricting, although she's confused about how she really feels about her life there. She lives with her spacey mom (Louise Fletcher) and obnoxious brother, works a thankless job as a bartender with her friend who seems to be her only source of emotional support (Mare Winningham), and she still can't get over a jerk named Billy (hands down, the scene where she's at the resturaunt talking to Billy in that balloon outfit really got me howling).

So, along comes Riley (Eric Roberts) a quiet guy with a dangerous, but reformed past who passes through town as a member of the theater crew. The arrival of the theater group inspires Cassie to do something different. She joins a thespian class and actually turns out to be pretty good (the scene where she and the other members of her class perform and the audience heckles them silly is one of the funniest scenes in the movie). Riley really likes Cassie and realizes that her potential outgrows her little town and tries to convince her of that. Riley's there to get Cassie, confused enough as she is about what she should do, to figure out just what it is she wants and what it is she plans on doing with the rest of her life.

It is a sweet romantic comedy that has some incredibly funny moments, and you can see how good Roseanna Arquette is for comedy like this as sort of a shy, confused type of young woman who tries to get people to notice her, even though the people around her haven't got a clue about much of anything. This helps transcend beyond the template story. It's worth watching, especially if you enjoy Rosanna Arquette. I think this is one of her best early performances.

A decent movie filmed in my home town

[toomuchman68 · 7/10 · 9 June 2006]

This is one of the better movies made in my hometown of Prescott, Arizona. It was made my senior year of high school and one of my class mates had a part as an extra in it. Back in the eighties there were not many hispanics or blacks in Prescott so the lack of people of color was accurate for the time, it was very white for a long time. Also, there really were quite a few people who wore western style clothing. I am not a romantic comedy fan so I watched this movie only because it was made in my town. I actually enjoyed it even though there was no body count, I prefer horror movies. I was surprised how good this was after seeing the bad movies made locally at the time.

Simply Hilarious

[screaminfairy · 10/10 · 25 March 2002]

A sweet, touching movie on what happens when someone doesn't love you anymore. And then you meet someone who loves you for who and what you are. Eric Roberts was really sweet in this movie. I only wish that guys were really like that.

Nice movie

[akhilles84 · 8/10 · 11 October 2001]

I thought this was a quite funny and sympathethic movie.It had a good leading cast,with Eric Roberts and Rosanna Arquette giving solid performances.It had humour too.I laughed several times while watching it.And all the jokes were good. What more can you ask?I am giving this a nice 8.

"Nobody's Fool" is unconventional comedy and love story

[chuck-reilly · 8/10 · 19 August 2014]

"Nobody's Fool" (1984), not to be confused with the later film starring Paul Newman, is an unconventional comedy with a few serious overtones. Rosanna Arquette is perfectly cast by director Evelyn Purcell in the lead role of Cassie. Living in a small Southwestern Arizona town, Cassie is lonely and depressed and bordering on madness after the break-up of her relationship with her longtime boyfriend (a very conceited Jim Youngs). She tries several comical attempts at suicide but they all come to naught. Her distracted mother (Louise Fletcher) doesn't seem to have a clue to her predicament. To make matters more complicated, Cassie was pregnant at the time of her break-up. She has the baby but puts it up for adoption. Now stuck in a dead-end job with a sympathetic co-worker (Mare Winningham), Cassie's life seems destined for the junk heap---until a Summer Stock company comes to town. She soon falls for the main technician for the troupe, Riley (Eric Roberts), but it takes her a while to admit the truth to herself. Her ex-boyfriend is beginning to show up at unexpected moments, and Cassie's heartstrings begin to pull in two different directions. Complicating the story further is that Riley doesn't seem any more stable than Cassie is. He's carrying a lot of serious baggage himself. In the meantime, Cassie decides to take on some acting classes and shines on stage in the film's penultimate moment when she performs one of Juliet's soliloquies from Shakespeare's famous play. At that point, Cassie realizes that she's come full-cycle in her formerly messed-up existence. It doesn't take her long to decide to follow Riley to Los Angeles and begin a new life. To quote the Bard, "after suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," Cassie's story has a mostly happy ending.

"Nobody's Fool" was tailor-made for the talents of star Rosanna Arquette. Alas, her career had few high points after this picture. That's probably because this film was not anything close to a box-office success. That's too bad because all the performances were excellent and the story-line had a definite 1980s feel to it. Molly Ringwald may have been the teen queen of that era, but Ms. Arquette certainly cornered the market for the twenty-somethings back then. She is at least well-remembered for that and for the band Toto's song in her honor.

Where are all the Spanish people?

[caspian1978 · 16 June 2004]

For Arizona, you sure got a lot of white (northern) people walking around this desert community. The cowboy hats add to the image that it is a south western community, but then again, the movie lacks any soul of the setting. Still, this is a great, forgotten 80's romantic comedy. Both Roberts and Arquette are a delight to watch. Both are very young and are in the prime of their careers. The movie has its moments of comedy and its moments of seriousness. Overall, the movie deals with the issue of growing up, falling in and out of love, and trying to find the one that is right for you. The movie tries to hit on suicide and depression but it fails. It takes a back seat to what the audience wants to see, comedy. Overall, the story ends happy and cheerful.

Acting is superb.

[jlopez-16632 · 10/10 · 22 November 2020]

All time favorite movie. Funny and entertaining. I just love this movie.