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Author! Author! (1982)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 2/25

Autho
2/25: Ripped apart by critics for poor reasons back then, Author! Author! is a strange movie that's actually catchy and fun to watch.

Instead of a Kramer vs. Kramer clone, it's about a father with five kids with some of them not his. Now, that's an extremely unusual vehicle for Al Pacino because I've never seen him be involved with child actors. No matter what, he is a natural who's offered the chance to show off his spontaneity since The Panic in Needle Park.

I had a hard time figuring out who Ivan Travalian's biological children were, and it turned out to be just Igor. The rest were from either Gloria's or other ex-wives' previous marriages. What makes this a winner is no matter the true nature of their relationship is to Ivan they all want him as their father. It's easy to see he's right for them as well. I was also thinking about how he could afford to raise them all, but that's the point of the play he's working on, hence the cliffhanger ending.

The script is a bit awkward to follow with the timeline often jumping ahead. There had been moments I thought Ivan was suffering from some brain injury because of how he messed up the names of several people, but nothing came of it. Maybe it's just stress. The movie is better during the second half, and it's easy to see the chemistry Al Pacino has with the five kids, making me want to watch it again later. His character had tried his best to get Gloria back, but she's so selfish that it's best to forget about her.

All in all, director Arthur Hiller nailed it perfectly about Author! Author! "that love is what makes a family strong, not necessarily who's the natural parent."