God broke the mold when he made Jack Lemmon, and I mean that as respectfully as one can put in writing.
Lemmon's only Best Actor Academy Award came from this gem. The last time a performance had that big of a depressing effect on me was after I watched it was the movie Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf- which you liked as well.
Jack plays Harry Stoner- a man filled with every emotion that a middle aged man possibly could have. His only child is away at college, his marriage is dull, his business is not what it used to be and is financially tanking, he can't get rid of the PTSD episodes from a war he fought in Italy, he thinks about his childhood obsession of baseball, he daydreams, etc.
Life shouldn't be this hard for someone that did all the right things.
Jack owns a clothing line company- they sell to retailers. Jack resents the fact that he has to hire prostitutes for buyers and is frustrated that he can't make payroll that it tempts him to burn one of his factories down to collect on insurance.
Jack's reasoning voice is Phil Green, played by the late Jack Gilford. Gilford received an Oscar nod for his performance- and it was incredible.
Do yourself a favor and watch this movie. It is for movie buffs. It is different and leaves you thinking about a lot of things.
This movie makes my top 100 list and is very moving. It is rated R for pot smoking, taking of the Lord's name in vain about 35 times, and adult themes. There is no nudity but prostitution is discussed and other adult themes. One of the most powerful scenes in the movie takes place in a pornographic movie theatre- it only shows the actors faces as the talk, but still the setting isn't for kids. If this movie was released today it would be PG-13. It does show Jack Lemmon's butt as he gets in the shower- so I guess that is nudity. What an incredible film.
I had a hard time getting this film on Netflix over the years, it was always on hold- luckily I got it at the library.
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