Just another piece of evidence that director Garry Marshall was best at doing romantic comedies over anything else. I was really looking forward to watching this film because I loved Marshall's "Pretty Woman", and I mean no disrespect to him especially with his recent passing but I have always felt his sister Penny is a much better filmmaker and this film is certainly proof of that. There are definitely some funny moments and the film starts off great, then goes totally flat and one-dimensional after the main focus of the plot is established. The problem here isn't the performances. Tom Hanks and Jackie Glaeason are both wonderful and do keep the movie at least watchable. It was also nice to see Eva Marie Saint (Hitchcock's "North by Northwest") in one of her later roles, in spite of being given very little to do, and there's also some good music, particularly the opening song by Christopher Cross. Hector Elizando a Garry Marshall regular also gives a good supporting performance. But once the story is set in motion and the problem between Gleason and Saint as Hanks' parents is established, the film becomes a slow, predictable and clichéd outing. It then tries to balance comedy with drama, and eventually just focuses more on being a drama, especially towards the end, but the predictability and slow- pacing of it all does the movie no justice, and it begins to slip into a point of desperation to be a feel-good, moving film. The stars can't be faulted. They still give great performances. Marshall can't be faulted. Even though he wasn't as strong a director as his sister he was still a decent one at the least. The problem lies solely with the story. This is a story with very little to offer in the way of genuine entertainment. We have seen this story done many times before and certainly since, and better at that. That's why the movie eventually becomes painfully slow, and predictable long before it is over and were it not for Hanks, Gleason Saint and Elizando's strong performances, the movie would indeed be unwatchable. Because of the strong performances it is mediocre at best and forgettable at worst. It would have been great to see all these stars and the director do a movie with a more engaging story. It almost seems like Marshall knew there was only so much he could do here, and depended on his actors to carry the weight. The result is an uneven movie, that really becomes more frustrating as it goes along and you wish it would just end already well before the two hour mark. Fortunately Marshall redeemed himself with romantic comedies like "Overboard" and "Pretty Woman", both undeniably better films suited for his directing style. It would only be two years later where Hanks would start to have that perfect balance between comedy and drama in "Big" interestingly enough directed by Garry's sister Penny. This might be a must see for die-hard fans of Gleason, whose final film performance this was as he died the following year. For everyone else though this is an uninteresting, non-original story and Hanks and Marshall proved later in their careers they were capable of making much better movies. On a side note, one other merit was seeing Dan Castalenetta (the voice of Homer Simpson), in a brief role as one of Hanks' advertising colleagues. Overall though the few merits of this movie don't make up for it's many flaws, which is a shame because the stars and director definitely deserved better, especially Gleason for a final film role.

David (Tom Hanks) has everything he could ever want in life! Fame, fortune, success, you name it. His life takes a chaotic turn when he finds out his parents have split up. I'm a big fan of Tom Hanks. The man can usually do no wrong, but this movie was a bit of a misfire. It tries to balance serious situations with awkward comedy, but it doesn't mesh together very well. The performances aren't the problem. Tom Hanks is absolutely great as he usually is, I didn't find his character very sympathetic though. Jackie Gleason & Eva Marie Saint are solid as the parents, but not easy to like either. Another problem I had with this movie is the poor pacing issues. This movie runs longer than it should for such a dull affair. I didn't hate this movie, but it was a rather mundane experience. Hanks fans might wanna give it a look, but I can't say there is much to look forward to. 5/10

"Nothing In Common" is one of several '80s movies Tom Hanks made after the success of "Splash" but remains fairly unknown today. After seeing this movie, I think I know why. The movie doesn't seem to know what it's about. Is it an examination of the advertising business? Is it about a man who has a kind of adolescent personality who is forced to grow up? Is it about the problems an estranged man and his son have when they are forced to be together? Is is about the effects of divorce on a pair who have been married for many years? Is it about an elderly individual who suddenly has multiple crisises thrust upon him? The movie tries to cover ALL of these themes (and more), and even though it runs a lengthy 118 minutes it ends up being unsatisfying. (There are signs that the movie ran even LONGER, but was cut down in the editing room. Gleason, for one thing, only makes a few brief appearances in the first hour.) It's not a terrible movie - Hanks (an actor I normally dislike) gives a good performance, and the movie does remain weirdly watchable enough that you'll watch it to the end to see how everything is wrapped up. But when you consider all the talent in front of and behind the camera, you can't help feel some disappointment.

I liked some parts of this film mostly because of its Chicago location shots, But I thought the film's production values were very low budget for a Hollywood film. It really looks reminiscent of a made-for-TV movie. The overlaid 80's Casio keyboard soundtrack for example, made this film seem (well what it is) very very 80's cheese. Watching it i couldn't help think immediately of "About Last Night" a GREAT film! How can two films both shot in Chicago, the same year (1986), and both films a Tri-Star production look so completely different!?! In a nutshell my favorite actor in this film was Eva Marie Saint who indeed gave a saint of a performance - The scene of her talking to her husband (Gleason) in the hospital, spilling her guts "What Happened to us Max? I cared, I know I cared" and Max's reply was a self-centered cold, "Bullshit". God I felt her pain. It ripped my heart out. Don't rent this film but if it comes on TV on a Sunday afternoon you may get thru it but then go out immediately and rent "About Last Night" to cheer you up. This one is a BIG DOWNER.