This winning small-town drama has some pungent passages of dialogue, mainly for Paul Newman as a 60-year-old construction worker currently failing to win damages for a gammy leg sustained while working for Carl (Bruce Willis).

Having left his wife and child 30 years before, Newman lives with an elderly widow (Jessica Tandy), who depends on him not only to help her out but also to keep her out of the clutches of her banker son.

When the person who offers Newman a lift one day turns out to be his own son (Dylan Walsh), events take place in his life that provide him with enough excitement, food for thought and insight into the future to occupy a normal five-year span.

No big deal here, and with some rather unnecessary nudity, maybe to emphasise the light tone, but well-enough written by director Robert Benton to keep us cheerfully engaged throughout.

Newman, Oscar-nominated, is right on the money and Gene Saks is also good as his one-legged lawyer, who provides drinking companionship, but never seems to have won a case.

"I never knew you were a Jew," Newman snarls. "How come you ain't smart?"

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