Line #50 Film/NothingInCommon


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_8394.jpeg]]
2
3	->''"Tomorrow, I'm doing a commercial about a family that loves each other, cares for each other. I'm faking it."''
4	-->-- '''David Basner'''
5
6	''Nothing in Common'' is a 1986 comedy/drama film directed by Creator/GarryMarshall, starring Creator/TomHanks, Creator/JackieGleason (in his final role), Creator/EvaMarieSaint, Creator/SelaWard, Creator/BarryCorbin, and Creator/BessArmstrong.
7
8	David Basner (Hanks) is a top-flight Chicago ad exec who's doing well in his life; he's got a good chance to land Colonial, a major airline account, and becomes attracted to Cheryl Ann Wayne (Ward), the daughter of Colonial's owner, Andrew Woolridge (Corbin). But his personal life is turned upside down when his father, Max (Gleason) calls one night to tell him David's mother, Lorraine (Saint), has just walked out after 36 years of marriage. David must try to juggle both his career and personal life while trying to help both of his parents out, and trying especially to repair his relationship with his father.
9
10	Notable for being Tom Hanks’ [[TomHanksSyndrome first dramatic film]] during his post-''Film/{{Splash}}''/pre-''Film/{{Philadelphia}}'' period when Hanks was mostly known for doing comedies.
11
12	Adapted into a 1987 [[RecycledTheSeries TV sitcom]] that lasted all of [[ShortRunners seven episodes]].
13
14	----
15	!!This movie contains examples of:
16
17	* AllMenArePerverts:
18	-->'''Max:''' Your best friend is your dick.\
19	'''David:''' Now where did I learn that? Your best friend is ''your'' dick!\
20	'''Max:''' Great, maybe the four of us can get together and have lunch.
21	* AsTheGoodBookSays: Charlie doesn't quote anything specific from Literature/TheBible, but when he tries to make David feel better by telling him about his own troubles with his father (Charlie put his father in a nursing home because he was starting to go senile, and at the end, his father didn't even recognize Charlie), and David says he thought Charlie was the perfect son, Charlie gently replies, "[[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} They told me there was only one of those guys.]]"
22	* BettyAndVeronica: A variation in that Donna (Betty) and Cheryl (Veronica) aren't actually competing with each other over David, but they both fit those respective character types otherwise.
23	* BlandNameProduct: While David's agency handles Adidas, the airline David works with is called Colonial. (There was a Colonial Airlines that formed after World War II, but it was absorbed by Eastern Airlines.)
24	* ByNoIMeanYes: David does this twice; when he's in bed with the stewardess, she asks him if she's involved with someone, and he responds, "No. Yes. Well; does self-involved count?" Later, Cheryl asks if she's coming on too strong to him, and he replies, "No. No. Well, not for a sumo wrestler."
25	* CallingTheOldManOut: David does this to Max after Lorraine reveals just how badly Max treated her during their marriage.
26	* CentralTheme: A {{Manchild}} going from treating his parents as AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents to ParentsAsPeople.
27	* CloudcuckooLander: Apparently, David was strange even as a kid.
28	-->'''David:''' So now you approve of me now that I'm an adult? You never approved of me when I was a kid.\
29	'''Max:''' I never knew what you were talking about! You were a ''moody'' little shit. Every time I went in to take a pee, you're holding a funeral for those damned seahorses!
30	* {{Counting to T\|hree}}en: When David tries telling Woolridge he can't be at the final presentation because Max will be in surgery, Woolridge threatens David by telling him he's giving him until the count of ten to change his mind. [[{{Understatement}} David does not take this well]], screaming '''[[SuddenlyShouting "TEN!!!!!"]]''' when Woolridge gets to it. (See PrecisionFStrike below).
31	* DeadpanSnarker: David fits this trope pretty well, and Donna and Max also qualify. Cheryl Ann, who is otherwise SarcasmBlind, even has one moment of this near the end as well, which astonishes David.
32	* DidTheEarthMoveForYouToo: As David and the stewardess are having sex, the plane they're in (see MileHighClub below) runs into some turbulence; predictably, David says a variation of this line.
33	* DirtyOldMan: Max.
34	-->'''Max:''' That Gina gives good sponge.
35	* DodgyToupee: A RunningGag throughout the movie is the series of these that Charlie, David's boss, wears, until he finally decides to go with his natural bald look.
36	-->'''Lorraine:''' (''after Charlie runs off because he's uncomfortable with Lorraine staring at him'') That rug is the ''worst''! Do you think he realizes it?\
37	'''David:''' [[SarcasmMode He does now]].
38	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: At Woolridge's stable, a colt and a foal are shown mating together while David and Cheryl stare at each other.
39	* {{Dramedy}}: And expressly marketed as such in the film's {{Tagline}}, as seen on the poster above.
40	* TheEighties: Downplayed, but definitely there. Aside from references that date the film, David muses that he and Cheryl would be "the perfect executives", alluding to the business-centric mood of the decade. It also dates itself with a petitioner against lights at Wrigley -- two years later, the first night game would be played there.
41	* {{Expy}}: Max is highly reminiscent of [[Theatre/DeathOfASalesman Willy Loman]].
42	* FirstGirlWins: [[spoiler:Strongly implied at the ending. However, Donna at the film's end is moving to Detroit, while David remains in Chicago.]]
43	* FunnyAnsweringMachine: David has funny messages all the time; when Max calls to tell him about Lorraine leaving, David's message is him advertising for a voice-over actor for his latest commercial, and when Woolridge calls to arrange a meeting, David pretends he can't hear him, until finally revealing it's a message.
44	* GuiltComplex: Lorraine has one about [[spoiler:Max's diabetes]]. She knew he was self-destructive, but couldn't do anything about it. She tells David over and over that it wasn't her fault, but it's obvious she thinks she ''somehow'' was responsible. David repeatedly assures her, no, his [[spoiler:life-threatening diabetes]] was not her fault.
45	* HardWorkMontage: A particularly effective one of David and his team trying to think of an ad campaign for Colonial, linked together by shots of David playing his drumsticks.
46	** Though "hard work" is relative:
47	--->'''Mishi:''' ''[pretending to be a plane]'' So board me, and feel the experience. Fly Colonial Airlines.\
48	'''David:''' You're an airplane?\
49	'''Mishi:''' Yeah.\
50	'''David:''' Anyone want to board Mishi?
51	* HeroicBSOD: David has one of these during the shooting of the commercial (the day after his big fight with Max), until Roger, the director, calms him down.
52	* {{Leitmotif}}: Christopher Cross' "Loving Strangers" is subtitled "David's Theme".
53	* LikeFatherLikeSon: Max and David are pretty similar.
54	-->'''David Kehr:''' Gleason is a glad-handing, old-fashioned salesman, a not-very-distant relative to Arthur Miller's Willy Loman, who operates out of Chicago's Apparel Center. His son, Hanks, is a salesman, too, though he belongs to a newer generation: He's a creative director for a large Midwestern advertising agency. He makes his pitch, not to one customer at a time, but to millions through the medium of TV commercials. Yet his methods are much like his Dad's: Hook 'em with a joke, win their sympathy with an emotional appeal and go for their wallets.
55	* TheLoinsSleepTonight: Max quietly admits he's no longer able to perform to David. [[spoiler:This {{Foreshadows}} the fact that Max has adult diabetes.]]
56	* ManChild: Justified and deconstructed. David is goofy and childish because in advertising, it's required. The film takes a look at what happens when someone like that is forced to grow up a little.
57	* ManlyTears: After Lorraine leaves Max in his hospital room, probably the last time he'll ever see her, he starts crying, acknowledging his situation is basically his fault.
58	* MileHighClub: David has sex with a stewardess on the plane at the beginning of the movie - ''while in his seat''.
59	-->'''David:''' ''[to a disbelieving passenger]'' I'm a frequent flier; they gave me a bonus.
60	%% * MoodWhiplash: The comedic and serious stories clashed.
61	* NomDeMom: When David finds out Cheryl Ann is Wooldridge's daughter after they've had sex, he has an OhCrap moment when he thinks he just slept with a married woman, but Cheryl Ann assures him she's using her mother's maiden name because she didn't want people to think she only got where she was in business because of her father.
62	* NoSenseOfHumor: Dale. David and the rest of the advertisers always try to make her laugh, unsuccessfully. She later admits to David that [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness it feels strange when he's no longer trying to make her laugh during his]] DespairEventHorizon.
63	-->'''Dale:''' Ms. Wayne wants the...\
64	'''David:''' The copy. I know.\
65	'''Dale:''' You don't make jokes anymore with me anymore, Mr. Basner.\
66	'''David:''' You ''liked'' those jokes?\
67	'''Dale:''' ...Yeah.\
68	'''David:''' So did I.
69	** Just before the end credits, David is once again up to his old antics. Dale can only FacePalm.
70	** Cheryl Ann is the same way; whenever David tries to make a joke to her, she doesn't get it.
71	* OffWithHisHead: The fate of Mr. Buzzword.
72	* OneSteveLimit: Averted; there are two maintenance men at the building David works in, both named Manny (naturally, David {{lampshade\|Hanging}}s this).
73	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: After David blows up at Woolridge (see PrecisionFStrike below), and he orders Cheryl Ann to fire him, Cheryl Ann's response (after her father has walked out) is, "[[SarcasmMode That was quite a performance. What do you do for an encore, blow up the building?]]" As upset as David is, he's blown away by the fact that Cheryl Ann, who seems to have NoSenseOfHumor, made a joke.
74	* ParalyzingFearOfSexuality: Lorraine's marriage. Her first date after leaving Max suffers from this as well.
75	* PissTakeRap: Done during the HardWorkMontage. It's unknown if it's serious or supposed to be cringeworthy.
76	* PrecisionFStrike: When Woolridge threatens him to come to the presentation (or he'll lose the account), David has had enough:
77	-->'''David:''' Look, I've done the job all right! Take my stuff, do whatever you want to do with it, but for the fifth time now, I'm not going anywhere with anybody, and don't you ''ever'' fuckin' touch me again!
78	* ProductPlacement: David's ad agency created one for Adidas, but the rest of the film revolves around a fictional airline, Colonial.
79	* {{Pun}}: Donna chides David for not showing up at her experimental theater show; David counters he was trying to conduct an experiment of seeing if he could enjoy the show without actually going.
80	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Charlie, especially in the {{Denouement}}.
81	* RunningGag: In addition to Charlie's DodgyToupee, there's also David's attempts throughout the movie to get Dale, the secretary at the ad agency, to laugh, all of which fail.
82	** There's also Max's personalized pens, whom he gives to everyone and anyone after he's been laid off and can't give to clients anymore.
83	* SadTimesMontage: PlayedForLaughs when David's parents constantly call him for favors.
84	-->'''David:''' ''(to Donna)'' '''''THEY'RE DRIVING ME CRAZY'''''!
85	* SanitySlippage: David goes completely sideways shooting the airline commercial finding a cat on set.[[note]]He's trying to deal with his sick, possibly dying father and estranged mother.[[/note]]
86	-->'''David:''' Lose the cat. Roger! Get it out of here! ''[to Roger]'' A cat?\
87	'''Roger:''' She could say goodbye to the cat.\
88	'''David:''' [[TranquilFury Oh. That's a]] [[SarcasmMode good idea.]]\
89	'''Roger:''' Yeah.\
90	'''David:''' Let's do one about a grandma...''who abandons a cat in winter''... '''''so she can romp with her grandkids!''''' We can show the cat trying to '''CLAW ITS WAY OUT TRYING TO GET FOOD, MAYBE EATING SNOW TO SURVIVE!''' ''(on bullhorn)'' '''''ARE THERE MORE ANIMALS THAT GRANDMA CAN TORTURE?! MAYBE PUT A SQUIRREL IN THE FIRE?!'''''
91	* ShoutOut:
92	** Early in the movie, Charlie says he hopes David has turned down the offers he's received from other ad agencies; David replies that he turned them down because those agencies wouldn't make him a partner;
93	-->'''Charlie:''' (''disbelieving'') Partner? Boyle, Gargas, Lionel and Basner?\
94	'''David:''' Like...[[Music/TheBeatles John, Paul, George and Ringo]].
95	** Becomes an IronicEcho later, when Charlie sends David a letter telling him he's free to pursue the airline account, and signs it, "John, Paul, George and Ringo".
96	** Also, when David first sees Cheryl Ann and immediately becomes attracted to her, he asks if she knows what time it is (she tells him), and then he quotes a line from Creator/WoodyAllen's ''Everything You've Always Wanted To Know About Sex (But Were Afraid To Ask)'' ("Before you know it, UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance will be here and we'll all be busy painting"). [[PopCulturalOsmosisFailure She doesn't get it]].
97	** David's staff chant "[[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey Lux Aeterna]]" when presented with his office window.
98	* SoapOperaDisease: Averted with Max. [[spoiler: Adult diabetes can have some gruesome effects when you don't treat it and your dietary habits suck while you smoke cigars.]]
99	* SpitTake: David does a variant of this when he and Woolridge are out hunting. Woolridge tells David Cheryl speaks highly of him, and adds, "She says [[SexGod you're a great lay]]," whereupon David accidentally shoots his gun.
100	* SuddenlyShouting: David does this twice; see [[CountingToThree when Woolridge counts to three]], and SanitySlippage above.
101	* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: When two young kids at the ad agency at the beginning call David "dude", he responds, "That's Mr. Basner to you."
102	* TitleThemeTune: Sung by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thompson_Twins Thompson Twins]].
103	* WhamShot: The shot of [[spoiler: Max's diabetes-ravaged feet]].
104	* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The end credits show Max and David adjusting to their new lives. Max hangs out in the studio playing cards with older crew, David continues shooting commercials, Max gets accustomed to having glasses, and David keeps (unsuccessfully) trying to make Dale laugh.

Context Film / NothingInCommon