Blucher One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

BasicLogic I don't want to talk about the two movie icons in this film, I just want to talk about the poor logic flaws in this film.Stanley was not an immigrant from the none English speaking foreign country, he's an American, born in America. He grew up in America, educated in the American education system, even he's an orphan, he would have been educated from the elementary school to junior high, to high school. That's a basic American underage education provided freely by the American government. Even if by any chance he might be a person with serious learning disability, he at least could have learned how to read and write the basic English. So there's no way this Stanley character created by this stupid film could not read or write A to Z alphabets, his own first and last names, read the street signs. He's not a retard person born with serious brain damage. Even a deaf child would have the ability to learn how to read and write. Yet this Stanley guy, born in America, could not read or write, even his own full name. Hey, this is not the primitive 200 years ago America, boy never got the chance going to school, so he could write and sign his name with a big X like Indians. The Stanley guy was later fired due to his illiteracy. The excuse to fire him was he might do something wrong in his food processing job. BUT, a VERY BIG "but", how come he could be hired by the bakery factory in the first place? Did he have to sign his name with the HR Dept. when he was hired?Although both leading actors performed nicely in this somewhat awkward and too predictable romantic film, there were so many question marks and flaws in this film that could never be justified or explained. It's like building a structure without foundation. Even building a wood cabin, you still need to build a foundation first. Without foundation, nothing can stand. It bothered me extremely when I tried to watch this film, because its poorly founded logic blocked me to watch it blindly. I just couldn't sweep the illogic storyline, the basic premises of a scenario under the carpet and shifted my focus to the later bloomed romance. A love story built on a ridiculous foundation simply couldn't stand long enough with a basic reasoning logic.

Desertman84 Stanley & Iris is a romantic drama that features two big stars in Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro. The screenplay by Harriet Frank, Jr. and Irving Ravetch is loosely based on the novel Union Street by Pat Barker.Swoosie Kurtz,Martha Plimpton,Harley Cross and Jamey Sheridan co- star to play key supporting roles. This movie is about an odd love story between a widow and an illiterate.It was directed by Martin Ritt. In this socially conscious drama with romantic overtones, Iris is a working mother with a job at a large commercial bakery who is still getting over the death of her husband, though her circumstances don't give her much time to grieve. She's sharing her house with her two children, Kelly and Richard; her unemployed sister, Sharon; and her thuggish brother-in-law. The tensions at home become even greater when the teen-aged Kelly announces that she's pregnant. One of the few bright spots in Iris' life is her blossoming friendship with Stanley, a nice guy who works in the bakery's cafeteria. However, Iris starts noticing a few odd things about Stanley and it slowly dawns on her that he can't read. When the boss figures this out, Stanley loses his job which is an especially troubling development, as Stanley has just had to put his father in a retirement home. Homeless and out of work, Stanley turns to Iris with a special request which is he'd like her to teach him how to read.The elements are in place but they don't add up to great drama in this well-meant effort to personalize the plight of illiterate people.But nevertheless,it's as honest and direct and entertaining as the considerable talents of everyone involved can make it.There is also a good supporting cast here, and Fonda is effective in her role. But it's DeNiro who shines with a very affecting performance, as well as a natural chemistry with Fonda.That is why this movie with many flaws is a harmless little romance that's elevated by the charisma of its two stars.

petyank I guess if a film has magic, I don't need it to be fluid or seamless. It can skip background information, go too fast in some places, too slow in others, etc. Magic in this film: the scene in the library. There are many minor flaws in Stanley & Iris, yet they don't detract from the overall positive impact of watching people help each other in areas of life that seem the most incomprehensible, the hardest to fix. Both characters are smart. Yet Stanley can't understand enough to function because he can't read; he can't read because he's had too much adventure in his childhood. Iris, although well-educated, hasn't had enough adventure and so can't understand how to move past the U-turn her life took. In both their faults and strengths, the characters compliment each other. It may be a bit of a stretch to accept that an Iris would wind up working year after year in a factory, or that a Stanley never hid his illiteracy enough to work in construction or some other better-paying job. And while these "mysteries" are explained in the course of the story, their unfolding seems somewhat contrived. I assume no one took the time to rethink the script. Even so, it's a good movie—just imagine what De Niro, Fonda and Plimpton would have done on screen if someone had!

Ric-85 This film has a special place in my heart, as when I caught it the first time, I was teaching adult literacy. It rang very true to me and even an outstanding student I had at the time. There are scenes which make you gulp with sudden emotion, and those which even put a smile on your face through sheer identification with the characters and their situation. Excellent performances by Jane Fonda and Robert DeNiro that rank with their best work, a great turn by a young Martha Plimpton, an inspiring story line, and a haunting musical score makes for a most enjoyable and rewarding experience.