Max Dugan Returns

Directed by Herbert Ross, Max Dugan Returns follows a single mother (Marsha Mason’s Nora) as she and her teenage son (Matthew Broderick’s Michael) contend with the sudden appearance of her long-absent father (Jason Robards’ Max Dugan). Filmmaker Ross, armed with Neil Simon’s screenplay, delivers a deliberate, gentle drama that remains watchable enough for the duration of its 98 minute running time, and while the whole thing never becomes as compelling (or even memorable) as one might’ve hoped, the picture’s pervasively agreeable atmosphere goes a long way towards perpetuating its decent-enough vibe – with the first-class performances playing a key role in buoying one’s interest on a fairly regular basis. (Mason, Broderick, and Robards are excellent, as expected, and it’s clear, too, that Donald Sutherland offers up stirring work as Nora’s police-officer love interest.) It’s clear, too, that Max Dugan Returns does grow more absorbing as it progresses, and there’s little doubt that the film’s third act builds towards a thoroughly satisfying finish – which does, in the end, cement the movie’s place as a winning Simon adaptation that admittedly evaporates from the viewer’s mind almost immediately.

*** out of ****