Film
Nothing in Common
Tom Hanks plays a cocksure Chicago ad man whose carefully constructed, consequence-free life implodes when his parents divorce after decades together. It's a grown-up comedy that earns its emotional gut-punches, balancing genuine laughs against the messy reality of watching your parents become strangers. For anyone who's felt the ground shift when family breaks.
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Kramer vs. Kramer1979
Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman navigate divorce with devastating honesty. A film that trusts its audience to sit with real anger and real love occupying the same space without neat resolution.
But It's deliberately unglamorous and can feel slow if you're expecting a three-act story with a clear winner. Heavy stuff.
About Schmidt2002
Jack Nicholson as a recently retired man forced to reckon with a marriage he stopped examining decades ago. Brutally funny about how we mistake comfort for connection, and what happens when that illusion cracks.
But It's a road movie powered entirely by regret and mild contempt. No uplift, just clarity. Some find that bleak.
Ordinary People1980
A family fracturing under the weight of a secret grief. Mary Tyler Moore gives a career-best performance as a woman incapable of the emotional honesty her family desperately needs. Quietly devastating.
But The pacing is deliberate and the tone never lets you off the hook with sentiment. It demands your attention rather than earning it through plot.
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The wildcard
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Succession2018
Both are about accomplished men forced to see their parents—and themselves—clearly for the first time. One finds grace in that; Succession finds only wreckage.
A TV series that does what Nothing in Common gestures toward: what happens when a family that has only ever been a transaction finally fractures. Sharp, angry, and interested in how blood relations can mean almost nothing. This is the dark version of the same argument.
But It's relentlessly cynical about human nature. If you watch for emotional comfort, you'll find none here. Also extremely violent and explicit.
More like this (7)
The Goodbye Girl1977
Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason in a scrappy, funny, deeply felt story about two damaged people learning to stay in one place. Neil Simon at his best: jokes that sting because they're true.
But The rom-com frame might make you expect a tidy ending. This is smarter and messier than that formula allows.
Parenthood1989
An ensemble cast (Ron Howard directing) exploring what parenting actually costs, across generations and circumstances. Funny, wise, genuinely moving without ever stopping being funny.
But It bounces between storylines, which can feel scattered if you want a tighter focus. Some of the comedy feels dated now.
Terms of Endearment1983
Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger in a mother-daughter story that spans decades and doesn't shy from how love and resentment are rarely separate. Jack Black does career-best supporting work. Genuinely funny and genuinely cruel.
But The third act pivots toward melodrama in a way that might feel manipulative. Long, too—nearly two hours and forty minutes.
Stepmom1998
Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts as a mother and the woman replacing her, learning to navigate territory that has no map. Manages to be both funny and genuinely kind without being naive about the stakes.
But It leans emotional in ways that can feel saccharine. The third act asks for tears and doesn't always earn them fairly.
The Accidental Tourist1988
William Hurt and Kathleen Turner as people broken by grief, learning to move again. A film about how we build walls and the small moments that crack them. Witty, tender, real.
But The pacing is glacial and the emotional beats take time to register. Not a lot of conventional plot momentum.
Tokyo Story1953
Both films understand that family estrangement isn't melodrama—it's the quiet shock of realizing the people you love have become strangers. Both trust that observation alone is enough.
Yasujirō Ozu's masterpiece about an elderly couple visiting their adult children after the war, watching how much distance has grown between them. Shot almost entirely in long takes, it makes space for the small silences where real feeling lives. Completely unhurried and absolutely perfect.
But It moves at the speed of actual life, not movie life. If you expect plot propulsion or conventional drama, you will be frustrated. Patience is mandatory.
You Can Count on Me2000
Both are about adult children recalibrating who they thought their parents were. Both understand that understanding your parents doesn't fix anything—it just changes what you grieve.
Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo as siblings dealing with the childhood wounds their parents left behind, now that they're adults. Gorgeously acted, funny without trying, heartbreaking without sentimentality. Kenneth Lonergan directing at peak empathy.
But It's small and interior. Nothing explodes; everything just slowly becomes clearer. For some viewers, that quiet register reads as nothing happening.
People
Cast
Tom HanksDavid Basner
Jackie GleasonMax Basner
Eva Marie SaintLorraine Basner
Héctor ElizondoCharlie Gargas
Barry CorbinAndrew Woolridge
Bess ArmstrongDonna Mildred Martin
Sela WardCheryl Ann Wayne- Cindy HarrellShelley the Stewardess
John KapelosRoger the Commercial Director- Carol MessingDavid's Secretary
Bill ApplebaumTed Geller- Mona LydenMishi
Directing
- Garry MarshallDirector
- Julie PitkanenScript Supervisor
Writing
- Michael PremingerWriter
- Rick PodellWriter
Production
- Jane AldermanCasting
- Shelley AndreasCasting
- Mario IscovichLocation Manager
- Alexandra RoseProducer