(1988)
2.5
Karl Williams
His former fellow TV star Hal Linden steals this solid comedy-drama away from writer/director Alan Alda. Linden is arch and funny as a veteran of the divorce wars trying to take his newly single pal under his wing, but the Woody Allen-lite flavor of Alda's work sometimes scuttles the film's loftier intentions, replacing penetrating insights for situation comedy-style laughs. His television roots and the schizophrenic nature of Alda's work as a feature filmmaker are clearest here; the story is at times rewarding as it limns the aches and pains of middle-aged single status, but other times it is simply broad, predictable, and visually static. Still, there are few writer/directors with the Alda touch at dialogue, character development, and recognizing society's current malaise; he can't be faulted for being an artist that should probably be writing for the stage but who's savvy enough to know that the motion picture is the dominant storytelling format. If they don't always quite reach the heights occasionally scaled by Allen, no one else comes as close to that level of quality as Alda and Neil Simon. A New Life is a solid reminder why both Simon and Allen tapped Alda to star in a few of their projects in the next decade.
A New Life on AllMovie
A New Life (1988)
