I know, you sayin to yourself, DMR, what are you doin reviewing this? I needed a good road trip kinda movie, and this fit the bill. It just happens to star an old guy and his cat. It is not strange, or weird, or even a hint of sci-fi or horror. But it is a good palette cleanser, and a nice low-key drama to boot.
From the start, with the shots of old people in the big city, you know it’s gonna be some nostalgia and potential imminent death. Circle of life kinda stuff, you know? But it’s a decent look at how old guy Harry and his cat Tonto face the next chapters of their lives, so to speak, and how getting old can suck but only if you let it. After getting booted from his old New York city apartment (under extreme protest), Harry reconnects with his kids and helps out the people in his journeys as he can, while getting to enjoy a lot of new experiences as he basically just says screw it, lets just see where the wind takes us as he heads west with his cat.
Fantastic role by Art Carney here as Harry. I only really know him as Norton from The Honeymooners, so this is definitely him in more subdued dramatics. And since it doesn’t involve space, the cat is fine here. Mainly about how he deals with his Family dynamics in an imperfect world, and entertaining to watch as he encounters strangers and new places, Searching for where he needs to be, and finding contentment there. It might make you a little misty, but in a good way.
