Synopsis
Harry is a retired teacher in his 70s living in the Upper West Side of New York City where his late wife and he raised his children--where he's lived all his life. When the building he lives in is torn down to make way for a parking garage, Harry and his beloved cat Tonto begin a journey across the United States, visiting his children, seeing a world he never seemed to have the time to see before, making new friends, and saying goodbye to old friends.
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Cast
- Art CarneyHarry Coombes
- Ellen BurstynShirley Mallard
- Geraldine FitzgeraldJessie Stone
- Larry HagmanEddie Coombes
- Chief Dan GeorgeSam Two Feathers
- René EnríquezGrocery Clerk
- Herbert BerghofJacob Rivetowski
- Michael McCleeryMugger
- Avon LongLeroy
- Rashel NovikoffMrs. Rothman
Recommendations
- 100
Chicago Sun-Times
It’s not easy to make comedies that work as drama, too. But Carney’s acting is so perceptive that it helps this material succeed. - 83
Portland Oregonian
This Paul Mazursky film is not a comedy but is full of humor -- and suspense about how Tonto is going to fit into and come out of the surprises along the way. [30 May 2003] - 80
Empire
Warm and thought-provoking portrayal of a journey and a man coping with the onset of age and all that might mean. - 75
TV Guide Magazine
Harry and Tonto is a sweet, sentimental road movie that draws force and relevance from Carney's touching and subtle performance. - 70
Variety
A pleasant film about an old man who rejuvenates himself on a cross-country trek. Script is a series of good human comedy vignettes, with the large supporting cast of many familiar names in virtual cameo roles. - 70
Los Angeles Times
This film has qualities of feeling and insight that set it apart from most movies about cantankerous coots. [18 Jun 1995, p.6] - 60
Time Out
Mazursky has escaped Fellini's shadow; when everyone's back from going to 'look for America', he might have something interesting to say. - 60
Village Voice
Mazursky's difficulty in making the transition from dramatic middle-shots to long shots, with the accompanying impulse to "universalize" his theme, indicates that he has not yet learned to trust his material, or appreciate his own sublime gift of being able to approach the secret of life through comic misunderstanding rather than cosmic understanding. [15 Aug 1974, p.63]
