IMDb RATING
6.7/10
4.1K
YOUR RATING
Struggling single mother Nora McPhee's life is disrupted when her long-lost father Max Dugan returns in hopes of spending some time with her and her son Michael to make up for lost time beca... Read allStruggling single mother Nora McPhee's life is disrupted when her long-lost father Max Dugan returns in hopes of spending some time with her and her son Michael to make up for lost time because Max is dying.Struggling single mother Nora McPhee's life is disrupted when her long-lost father Max Dugan returns in hopes of spending some time with her and her son Michael to make up for lost time because Max is dying.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Panchito Gómez
- Luis
- (as Panchito Gomez)
Jim Staahl
- Man at Shoe Store
- (as James Staahl)
Irene Olga López
- Grocer's Wife
- (as Irene Olga Lopez)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaActor Matthew Broderick's father, actor James Broderick died around the time that this film was being developed, made and released. Broderick's co-actor in this film, Jason Robards, knew his father and helped Matthew through his loss and grief.
- GoofsWhen Nora McPhee drives home on the motorcycle with her son and parks, she leaves the ignition on, as evidenced by the brightly glowing taillight that will turn off and on with the ignition switch.
- Quotes
Michael McPhee: Can you make money from philosophy?
Max Dugan: Yeah, if you have the right one.
Featured review
Warm, funny and spirited--but leaves a curious question-mark behind...
As an actress, Marsha Mason always makes the best of an occasionally bad situation ("Audrey Rose", "Chapter Two"), yet in "Max Dugan Returns" she really gets to shine with excellent material. She has often played mothers, but Mason's relationship here with screen-son Matthew Broderick is extremely warm and real--it lives beyond the wisecracks--and as a daughter to Jason Robards she's funny and occasionally maternal. Plot about an L.A.-area teacher struggling to keep ahead of the bill collector has a jaunty, lively rhythm and a vitality that puts it above most family comedies. When the teacher gets a visit from her long-lost father, carrying a satchel of stolen money, the story thickens but doesn't bubble over. Director Herbert Ross does a good job at keeping the situation grounded. Donald Sutherland is perhaps an odd casting choice as the detective/love-interest investigating Pop (Sutherland has played so many heavies, he still has an evil glint in his eyes and an edge in his voice), however he makes the character right for him. Credit Neil Simon with one of his best scripts; he has no agenda here except to make us laugh, though that presents a problem when reality sinks in and daughter and dad have to deal with the moral (and legal) ramifications of the money. There are some quick lines at the finale designed to make the ending a happy one, but I'm not so sure Mason would be in the clear after the police become involved--nor would her romance with Sutherland be quite so rosy once he has to choose the law over his feelings for her. And why does Mason say "he's going to drive" at the finale when the car turns into an animated plane? Would Pop ditch the car at the airport? And what about that lunch date at Pizza Hut? When Mason and Broderick show up in a taxi, wouldn't detective Sutherland be a little bit suspicious? *** from ****
helpful•122
- moonspinner55
- Apr 16, 2001
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Neil Simon's Max Dugan Returns
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $17,613,720
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,791,002
- Mar 27, 1983
- Gross worldwide
- $17,613,720
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