Nobody’s Fool (1994)

Nobody’s Fool was one of those movies that was always on television when I was coming up. 

Either on HBO, or basic cable, I would catch bits and pieces of it. I’m sure it was years, and probably didn’t happen till the rise of Netflix, that I ever saw it all the way through. 

Even now, watching it again for the first time in at least a decade or two, there is an opening I didn’t remember. 

Anyway, watching it I had nostalgia for the days when you would discover a movie this way. One scene at a time, if you got bored you flipped the channel, and if it was good you watched it and then tried to find it again from the start. 

I think nearly every time this popped up I watched it all the way through. 

This flick has a murderer’s row of acting talent. Paul Newman is the lead and Bruce Willis is his frenemy and sometime boss. It’s delightful how much the two men like crossing swords with each other even if the stakes mostly stay very low. 

Willis commits to being a jerk all the way to the end of the movie. No redemption arc for him. Wonder how many big action stars would let themselves do that today?

Jessica Tandy, Beloved Character Actress Margo Martindale, young Philip Seymour Hoffman, Dylan Walsh and Pruitt Taylor Vince all create characters that feel lived in and real. 

Newman’s plays Sully, a rascal who abandoned his family and suddenly at 60 finds he has a second chance with both his son and a grandson. Most every scene is just a bit of light comedy and drama. The movie is happy to just meander through Sully’s life and his small challenges. 

A lot of movies suggest how great life is in a small town but this one shows you a version of it that feels real and mostly believable. It’s not sugar coated and it’s not Hallmark. But the movie excels at showing Sully as human who would let you down most of the time but would also be the first guy you would call if your ailing mother went wandering down the street.

He’s not heroic, and he knows it, but sometimes he’s decent.

If nothing else Newman is clearly having a great time. He knows what a magnificent character he’s got here and he’s hitting each little moment with sly charm and the right amount of melancholy. 

Newman made a ton of great movies and if you are just getting started there is plenty see before you get to this one. But, make sure it’s on your list.