Harry & Son (1984)

22% of critics liked it
(9 reviews)
40% of users liked it
(167 ratings)

Harry (Paul Newman), a middle-aged hardhat, has trouble communicating with his teenaged son Howard (Robby Benson). While Harry wants Howard to find a bread-and-butter job, the sensitive boy would rather pursue a writing career. Howard tries his best to please his dad, but ultimately realizes that he… More Harry (Paul Newman), a middle-aged hardhat, has trouble communicating with his teenaged son Howard (Robby Benson). While Harry wants Howard to find a bread-and-butter job, the sensitive boy would rather pursue a writing career. Howard tries his best to please his dad, but ultimately realizes that he must march to his own beat if he's to find lasting happiness. The best scenes in this by-the-numbers domestic drama are those between Howard and his pregnant girlfriend (Ellen Barkin). Adapted from The Lost King, a novel by Don Capite, Harry and Son represents one of the rare occasions that star Paul Newman directed himself (at least officially!) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 57 min.
Directed By: Paul Newman
Written By: Ronald L. Buck, Paul Newman
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Mar 2, 1984 Wide

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Fuzzily conceived and indecisively executed, Harry & Son represents a deeply disappointing return to the director's chair for Paul Newman.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The movie might have worked if it had been a satire of those awful made-for-TV Family Problem Movies. Unfortunately, it does not seem to know it is funny.
Vincent Canby, New York Times
A decently intentioned but rather drab mess of a movie.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The film is definitely overlong, bordering on the dull.
Douglas Pratt, DVDLaser
Produced, directed and even partially scripted by Newman, the story about a man suffering from a heart condition is hardly exciting or rewarding material.
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
OK pairing of Paul Newman and Robby Benson in domestic drama.
, Film4
The script offers few insights and the plot is too predictable to create any tension.

Read all 7 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

jay n

The narrative line of the script is scattered and seems to pick up ideas and problems and then drop them without resolution to tackle some other tangential issue. The issues all pertain to the relationship between the father and son but it would have been better to focus more on their… More
The narrative line of the script is scattered and seems to pick up ideas and problems and then drop them without resolution to tackle some other tangential issue. The issues all pertain to the relationship between the father and son but it would have been better to focus more on their interaction and less on exterior forces. Benson tries in the lead but just isn't that strong of a screen presence especially when competing with Newman's star power. The rest of the cast is certainly talented even if what they're handed character wise is diffuse and it's interesting to see some like Freeman and Barkin who went on to long careers just starting out. Not a bad film but very average.