A generation gap comedy-drama that on the whole goes nowhere in particular, although it does have a few inspired moments of comedy, as you would expect from this director and these stars. In more dramatic moments, however, the script too often has that phoney ring - smart scripters writing lines for people who just wouldn't communicate like this, if they communicated at all. Chief non-communicators here are the parents (Jackie Gleason, Eva Marie Saint) of advertising whiz Tom Hanks, completely wrecking his hip, well laid-out (like his girls) life. Director Garry Marshall encourages the whole cast, Saint especially, to shout a lot, while the wry-faced Hanks is wasted on the poignant or emotional parts where the script is giving him so little help. Bess Armstrong is appealing as the college crush of his past, and Sela Ward glamorous in the Gene Tierney tradition as the career woman who sees herself and Hanks as a high-flying duo. Not bad, but you'd be hard put to find reasons to recommend people to actually see it.


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