James Caan was up for Kramer vs Kramer but turned it down to star in and direct another divorced dad drama. This one adds gangsters but wasn't as successful - he blamed distribution but another reason surely was how he stacks the deck in favour of his character. His wife wife has peroxide hair, is trashy and isn't a particularly good mother, her boyfriend is a two bit scumbag, new girlfriend Jill Eikenberry is an idyllic, pet-cuddling kindergarten teacher who just loves him.
The story is interesting but the film feels unsure how much to hype. Because Caan basically has to bash his head against a wall for an hour unable to contact his kids. Maybe they needed to go more into character stuff because that's very simple - we don't get a sense of what sort of dad Caan is apart from being awesome, what his kids are like apart from being cute (the real life story the father didn't find them until they were teens and they'd changed), what his relationship with his ex was like apart from her being dumb. There's allusions to being a working class conservative in the late 60s which are interesting but not explored.
I liked Caan's direction with its master shots and emphasis on acting. But it felt as though the script needed another few drafts.
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