Synopsis
In a small town in California's San Joaquin Valley, 14-year-old Homer Macauley is determined to be the best and fastest bicycle telegraph messenger anyone has ever seen. His older brother has gone to war, leaving Homer to look after his widowed mother, his older sister and his 4-year-old brother, Ulysses. And so it is that as spring turns to summer, 1942, Homer Macauley delivers messages of love, hope, pain... and death... to the good people of Ithaca. And Homer Macauley will grapple with one message that will change him forever - from a boy into a man. Based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Saroyan's 1943 novel, The Human Comedy, ITHACA is the quintessential wartime tale of the Home Front. It is a coming-of-age story about the exuberance of youth, the sweetness of life, the sting of death and the modesty and sheer goodness that lives in each and every one of us.
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Cast
- Sam ShepardWillie Grogan
- Hamish LinklaterTom Spangler
- Alex NeustaedterHomer
- Meg RyanMrs. Macauley
- Jack QuaidMarcus Macauley
- Tom HanksMr. Macauley
- Nick WilliamsTexas
- Christine NelsonBess Macauley
- Lucia ScaranoRosa Sandoval
- Zachary WebberHorse
Recommendations
- 70
The New York Times
Ms. Ryan’s muted approach may be what we’ve come to expect of looks back at this period — nostalgia always comes with a lot of browns and grays, and with plenty of voice-over (in this case, Marcus’s letters to Homer). But she executes the formula well. - 60
Variety
By turns poignant and plodding, affecting and affected, Ithaca is the sort of frustrating movie that’s just good enough to make you wish it were a lot better. - 58
Entertainment Weekly
In all, Hanks’ casting feels like a missed opportunity—much like the rest of Ithaca. - 50
New York Daily News
Ryan’s debut as a director is a sketchy and starchy film. The memorable thing about the movie is that Hanks, still one of the biggest stars on the planet, stepped up for his “Sleepless in Seattle” and “You’ve Got Mail” partner. - 38
Movie Nation
You don’t have to remember the 1943 mid-WWII Oscar winning “The Human Comedy” to realize that Meg Ryan’s version, Ithaca, is missing something. - 25
New York Post
This movie is resolute about being as homey and obvious as it can possibly be. Somewhere, Norman Rockwell is thinking, “Sheesh, even I was edgier than this.” - 20
Los Angeles Times
That the World War II-era drama Ithaca was directed by actress Meg Ryan may prove the most notable yet least successful thing about this oppressively sentimental journey. - 12
Slant Magazine
The film is confused in conception, dreary in execution, and completely lacking in forward momentum.
