Mill Creek Entertainment has released a Blu-ray double feature of "Dad" starring Jack Lemmon and "I'm Not Rappaport" starring Lemmon's long-time pal and frequent co-star Walter Matthau. Of the two, "Dad" is the vehicle that was aimed at mainstream audiences, while "Rappaport" seems to have been created for its intended audience, the big city art house cinema crowd. "Dad" stars Lemmon, playing older than his actual years, as Jake Tremont, a retired blue collar worker who resides with his wife, Bette (Olympia Dukakis). Like most older couples, the Tremonts have long adjusted to a routine lifestyle. In this case, Bette wears the pants in the household, to coin an old phrase. She loves and cares for Jake, but displays all the warmth of a Marine drill instructor, as she orders her meek husband about and makes virtually every decision. Jake is comfortable with this, as he is a low-key guy who long ago decided to allow Bette to establish a matriarchy in the household. When Bette is stricken by a heart attack and hospitalized, Jake is a like a fish out of water. His somewhat estranged son John (Ted Danson), a high-powered self-employed financier, has to reluctantly leave his workaholic lifestyle to look after Jake, with some limited assistance from his sister (Kathy Baker), who is busy raising her own family. In a predictable fashion, the high-strung John tries to connect with his father and bridge the chasm between them that has existed for decades. However, when Jake suffers his own medical problems, John takes a leave of absence, moves in permanently and gallantly assumes all of the household duties as well as medical care for his ailing father. The surprise arrival of his own estranged son Billy (Ethan Hawke), who adores his grandfather, gives the male family members the opportunity to patch up old feuds even while they deal with the deteriorating conditions of Jake and Bette.
There's a lot more to the tale than the above synopsis but we wouldn't
want to divulge spoilers. "Dad" was the feature film directorial debut
for Gary David Goldberg, who also wrote the screenplay (based upon
William Wharton's novel) and produced, as well. Goldberg was primarily
known for directing TV sitcoms and that experience comes close to
undermining the dramatic impact of "Dad", with some over-the-top cutesy
scenes that are straight out of a Hallmark Channel TV movie. However,
Lemmon's marvelous performance serves as an anchor for the main plot and
all of the supporting cast members (including Kevin Spacey) give
impressive performances. Most of all, the movie speaks truth to anyone
who has had to face the seemingly insurmountable challenge of caring for
an aging parent. "Dad" is at times mawkish but in the end, its
attributes outweigh its flaws.
"I'm Not Rappaport" is a 1996 adaptation of Herb Goldberg's Tony Award-winning play from 1985, his most acclaimed work since "A Thousand Clowns". He also wrote the screenplay for the film. Like "Dad", the movie centers on a septuagenarian , in this case, actually two septuagenarians: Nat Moyer (Walter Matthau) and Midge Carter (Ossie Davis), two dyed-in-the-wool New Yawkers, who convene every day on a Central Park bench to debate and kvetch about all the things old people live to kvetch about: politics, the state of society, the younger generation and...well, you get the picture. The make an odd couple,and of course, Matthau knew a thing or two about capitalizing on an odd couple scenario. As Nat, he has the far more flamboyant role. He is an unrepentant, left wing lifelong firebrand, still fighting injustice wherever he sees it and generally wearing out his welcome in the process. Midge is a longtime janitor of an apartment building who has a laid back "live and let live" attitude. On one level, he can't stand Nat, who tells preposterous stories to enhance his self-importance. On the other hand, Midge finds his charisma to be irresistible and keeps coming back for more, constantly getting suckered into believing Nat's tall tales.The movie violates the unwritten law that comedies should have relatively short running times but "Rappaport" discards this notion (as the old radical Nat might) and clocks in at 2 hours and 15 minutes, but it's never dull or drawn out because of the crackling good dialogue. The plot gets a bit off-kilter with the men coming to the rescue of a young drug addict (Martha Plimpton) to save her from the clutches of her cruel dealer (Craig T. Nelson). The scenario finds them adopting the guise of geriatric Mafia dons, which is amusing in execution but at odds with the realistic scenario played out in the earlier parts of the film. Most of the movie's charms come from simply watching and listening to two master actors in the winter of their careers, with both still fully able to command the screen and score laughs under Herb Gardner's fine direction. In fact, this is one of Matthau's best performances and was worthy of an Oscar nomination.
Both "Dad" and "I'm Not Rappaport" can be recommended, though the latter is by far the strongest title. The Mill Creek Blu-ray double feature provides sterling transfers of both films but no bonus features.