Weekend Watch (with special guest Alan Sepinwall)

New feature: We occasionally like to close out the week by giving some space to friends of The Reveal to share their recommendation for movies that might not be on your radar. This week we’re joined by Alan Sepinwall. Alan’s a longtime TV critic whose work can be found at Rolling Stone and at What’s Alan Watching?, his newsletter, which is now distributed via Ghost.

For his pick, Alan has chosen the 1994 film Nobody’s Fool, a Robert Benton-directed adaptation of Richard Russo’s novel of the same name starring Paul Newman as “Sully” Sullivan, an aging ne'er do well living in Upstate New York.

At his best, there are two modes of Paul Newman. In one, he is serious, self-loathing, and ultimately tragic in some way; think The Verdict or The Hustler. In the other, he’s an irresponsible rascal with an over-inflated sense of his own abilities. The most famous of these are probably Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Slap Shot, two films I adore. But the one I keep returning to over and over, as one of my top comfort movies of all time, is Nobody’s Fool.  

The film came with the tagline, “In a town where nothing ever happens… everything is about to happen to Sully.” It’s both accurate and inaccurate. Yes, during a busy holiday period, Sully’s estranged son comes to town, separates from his wife, begins working construction with Sully and asks Sully to look after his grandson Will. There’s also a funeral, a political scandal, and a divorce, plus the ongoing feud between Sully and the local construction boss failson (played by Bruce Willis, who worked uncredited because he didn’t want to overshadow Newman, and gives the most relaxed and natural performance of his career). But all of these ultimately feel like very small things, that just feel big because they’re happening to, or around, a character played by Paul Newman, who seems like he’s never been happier on screen than wearing Sully’s worn boots and faded winter jacket. (Unsurprisingly, he reunited with both Richard Russo and Robert Benton for the private eye film Twilight, and later starred in and produced an HBO miniseries adaptation of Russo’s Pulitzer-winning novel Empire Falls, where he played a less lovable version of Sully.) 

At the 1994 Oscars, the battle seemed to be between Pulp Fiction for the cool kids and Forrest Gump for the mainstream Academy voters. But looking at that Best Actor category, I was futilely rooting for Newman to pick up a second trophy. It’s an astonishingly charming performance, and one that lifts up everyone around him; as the wife that Willis is flagrantly cheating on, Melanie Griffith gives one of her very best performances. And in her final film role, as Sully’s former 8th grade teacher, and now his landlady, Jessica Tandy is an absolute delight, and one of Newman’s best onscreen sparring partners. There are a few movies I’ve rewatched more in my life, but none may leave me smiling more than this one.