Line #6 Film/NobodysFool


1	[[quoteright:305:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_562.jpeg]]
2
3	->'''Beryl:''' Doesn't it bother you that you haven't done more with the life God gave you?\
4	'''Sully:''' Not often. Now and then.
5
6	''Nobody's Fool'' is a 1994 comedy-drama film [[TheFilmOfTheBook based on the novel by Richard Russo]], written and directed by Robert Benton, and starring Creator/PaulNewman, Creator/JessicaTandy, Creator/MelanieGriffith, and Creator/BruceWillis.
7
8	Donald "Sully" Sullivan (Newman) is a 60-year-old construction worker and LovableRogue who, when not working the occasional job with his friend and partner Rub (Creator/PruittTaylorVince), spends his time bitching about his work to his boss Carl (Willis), drinking with his friends, flirting with Carl's wife Toby (Griffith), and occasionally helping out Beryl Peoples (Tandy), his landlady and former English teacher. Then, one Thanksgiving, Sully's estranged son Peter (Creator/DylanWalsh) comes to town, and Sully tries to repair their relationship, as well as be a grandfather to Peter's son Will (Alexander Goodwin).
9
10	This film was well received by critics, and Newman's performance is considered one of the best of his career.
11
12	Not to be confused with the 1986 romantic comedy starring Creator/RosannaArquette and Creator/EricRoberts, or the 2018 comedy directed by Creator/TylerPerry and starring Creator/TiffanyHaddish.
13
14	----
15	!!This film contains examples of:
16
17	* AbusiveParents: Sully's father was like this to Sully, which is why he doesn't want anything to do with his childhood home. [[spoiler:It's part of the reason he quit being a father to Peter, afraid he might be just as abusive.]]
18	* UsefulNotes/AcademyAward: Newman was nominated for Best Actor, and the script for Best Adapted Screenplay, but both of them lost.
19	* AdaptationDistillation: A couple of subplots, including Sully's girlfriend Ruth (and her daughter, a single mother), and the owner of the diner and her mother (the one who wanders out onto the street) are dropped entirely or condensed drastically, and a couple of the relationships are changed, but the movie basically captures the essence of the novel.
20	* AngryGuardDog: At least until Sully gets through with him...
21	* TheAtoner: Sully tries to bond with Will to make up for the fact he was an absentee father to Peter.
22	-->'''Peter:''' So, if you're not a father to me, how come you're a grandfather to Will?\
23	'''Sully:''' Cause you gotta start someplace.
24	* BerserkButton: Rub hates being called Sancho, but he ''especially'' hates it when Peter does so.
25	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Rub, when he thinks Sully is treating him as TheUnfavorite when Peter shows up, and the way he thinks Peter treats him is even worse.
26	* BunnyEarsLawyer: Inverted; Wirf isn't really that good at his job, and Sully grouses he only has him around because he can't afford a two-legged lawyer (Wirf has a prosthetic leg), but they do seem to enjoy each other's company.
27	* CatchPhrase: Rub's "You know what I wish?", which he asks to Sully all the time (and usually, it's a pretty mundane wish.
28	** PhraseCatcher: When Sully goes to apologize to Rub near the end, he asks Rub, "Know what I wish?"
29	* ChekhovsGun: The trifecta ticket Sully buys, and his childhood home.
30	* DeadpanSnarker: Sully, Carl, Toby and Judge Flatt all qualify.
31	* DisappearedDad: Sully was like this to Peter, walking out on him (and Sully's wife) when he was a year old, which is the cause of their estrangement.
32	** Sully almost [[spoiler:becomes a disappeared Granddad, about to run off with Toby and leaving Peter and Peter's son just as Scully was getting to know them. But he realizes he's better off staying and repairing his own family, letting Toby flee by herself which was probably also good for her.]]
33	* DrFeelgood: Jocko is a mild version of this trope; he gives Sully samples of pain medication for his bum leg. They do help Sully, but they're more successful in dealing with Carl's AngryGuardDog.
34	* {{Fanservice}}: Sully jokingly tells Toby during one of their many flirtations that Carl's secretary would flash him whenever he shows up at the office. [[spoiler:One visit, she's there handling paperwork and before Sully leaves Toby pulls up her sweater to reveal she's completely naked otherwise.]]
35	* FatalFlaw: Sully would be a wealthier man or a more prominent leader of the community if he weren't so stubborn [[spoiler:and fearful that he'd turn out as violent as his father.]]
36	* IHaveNoSon: Played for laughs; at the Thanksgiving dinner Clive Jr. takes Beryl to, the chief investor says Beryl must be proud of Clive Jr. She claims Clive Jr. isn't really her son, because the hospital switched bassinets. Clive assures the other man his mother is kidding, but looks worried.
37	* ImagineSpot: Every time Sully throws a brick onto the back of his truck, he imagines throwing Carl out through his office window.
38	* JerkassHasAPoint: Carl is rude and a relatively horrible boss, but he correctly calls out Sully on the older man's foolish stubbornness [[spoiler:and knows full well that Sully won't really run off with his wife Toby when she finally walks out on Carl.]]
39	* KnightInSourArmor: Sully. There's a reason why Beryl calls on Sully to go out and rescue the dementia-suffering neighbor while ''her own son'' is standing there.
40	* LawfulStupid: Officer Raymer, all the way.
41	-->'''Ollie:''' Your honor, Officer Raymer is currently under suspension.
42	-->'''Judge Flatt:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Anesthesia is what he should be under]].
43	* MayDecemberRomance: Ultimately averted.
44	* MeaningfulEcho: Twice, Toby calls Sully a man among men; the first time, it's not a compliment, but it is the second time.
45	* TheMissusAndTheEx: Oddly enough, Sully and Ralph (current husband of Sully's ex-wife Vera) get along wonderfully. It's Vera that still can't stand Sully.
46	* MoralityPet: Apparently, Beryl is this for Sully, as Clive Jr. finds out when Sully finds out Clive Jr. (who wants Sully out of Beryl's house) was poking around in his room:
47	-->'''Clive Jr.:''' My mother is-
48	-->'''Sully:''' The only reason I don't kick your ass!
49	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Sully. Only Beryl calls him by his first name (or, often, just Mr. Sullivan).
50	* RunningGag: Sully stealing Carl's snowblower, and Carl stealing it back.
51	* ScatterbrainedSenior: Hattie, the mother of the owner of the diner Sully frequents. This is more developed in the novel; in the movie, it's limited to her wandering out on the street, yelling to passing cars, "No driving on the sidewalk!", and claiming she's going to visit her sister in Albany (while walking in the snow).
52	* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: Sully's response to any situation he doesn't want to be a part of. It's why he abandoned Peter and his wife early on.
53	* ShoutOut: Sully and Wirf bet on the outcome of an episode of ''Series/ThePeoplesCourt''.
54	** Sully quotes from Creator/CharlesDickens' ''The Cricket on the Hearth'' ("We wear the chains we forge in life"), though when Beryl asks if he remembers who said that, Sully replies, "You did, Miss Beryl."
55	* SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer: Played with; Creator/BruceWillis appears in the trailer and has a decent-sized supporting role in the film, but the studio was afraid people would assume it was an action film if he was in it, so he doesn't receive any billing in the print ads or posters.
56	* SnarkToSnarkCombat: Sully and Carl pretty much exclusively communicate in this manner. Not surprising, considering they are played by renowned deadpan snarkers Paul Newman and Bruce Willis.
57	* StripPoker: Carl and his latest mistress seem to have lost their clothes in the poker game near the end. Also, Wirf loses his prosthetic leg.
58	* ThisIsThePartWhere:
59	-->'''Sully:''' This is where a smart person would get out of the car.
60	* TooGoodToBeTrue: During the final third of the movie, Sully goes through one hell of a lucky streak [[spoiler:as he finds out his trifecta horse finally won - although he was in jail and unable to buy the ticket in time - and later gets out of jail free when the judge dumps on the LawfulStupid deputy. Sully's antagonist Clive Jr. has fled town rather than face angry investors in his failed land development. During the weekly poker game, Sully has the best night of his life, even beating everybody at StripPoker including his BadBoss Carl. And when Carl's wife Toby [[WomanScorned storms in finding Carl with his naked mistress]], Toby proposes to flee with Sully with all of her soon-to-be-ex-husband's money for a Caribbean holiday.]]
61	** And [[spoiler:it all comes to an end when Toby breaks down in tears in the car, and Sully realizes she's better off fleeing by herself. He also admits to her he needs to stay behind and repair his relationship with his son and grandson.]]
62	* WaxingLyrical: When Carl's secretary/mistress Ruby walks away from the poker table because she's pissed, Sully says to her, "[[Music/KennyRogers Ruby, don't take your love to town]]" - to which she [[FlippingTheBird flips him off]] - and the others sing it to her.
63	* WhatTheHellHero: Peter does this to Sully when Sully forgets Will outside (when inside his childhood home).
64	* WorthyOpponent: Despite their constant snarking at each other, Sully and Carl seem to consider each other this, especially where the snowblower is concerned.
65	* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: How Beryl sees Sully.
66	* YouNeedToGetLaid: After Officer Raymer writes him a ticket, Sully says to him, "Boy, I hope you get laid sometime soon."

Context Film / NobodysFool