The eighth, final, and least good pairing of screenwriters Irving Ravetch/ Harriet Frank and director Martin Ritt ("Sound And The Fury" haters will disagree) this too relaxed, too meandering film, with too many dead end sub plots, is ultimately done in by the total and complete lack of sexual or any other kind of chemistry between Jane Fonda and Robert DeNiro. Scenes between them not only lack heat and passion, they are pretty much devoid of interest, as well. Scenes that should leave the audience crying...Iris' description, to Stanley, of her late husband...or cheering...when a fully literate Stanley is able to navigate the library...caused this audience member, at least, to react with total indifference. Nor do I buy Fonda as a working gal from Watertown Conn. She's a little bit too much at home at that 5 star hotel Stanley takes her to. Consequently, this film's few engaging or surprisingly good bits, like Stanley's relationship with his dad, and the excellence of the kid actor who plays Iris' son, are soon buried beneath a morass of ordinary. Give it a C. PS...Lovely cinematography and music by Don McAlpine and Johnny Williams that almost make grimy Watertown and the Toronto burbs poetic.
Review of Stanley & Iris
