This is an excellent film in every manner with the impulse behind its artistic success being the script by Ron Nyswaner, wry, witty and moving, each in its turn, detailed when it needs to be, and only suggestive, when that is appropriate. Varying concepts of what a person's home is and what it should be molds this comedic drama, the final directoral essay by Bud Yorkin, and unjustly overlooked or carelessly reviewed. Jeff Daniels portrays Paul Weaver, freshly divorced but not having altered his causative rakish ways, obligated to sojourn at the home of his parents for the wedding of his sister (Amy Wright), an awkward circumstance as his former wife (Cynthia Sikes) and two children are temporarily living there due to plumbing troubles in their own house. Paul is eager to become closer to his estranged children, but his daughter Sarah (Mary Griffin) has toted an abundance of resentment with her and is puzzled by the obviously ongoing mutual attraction between her parents. During a hectic nuptial weekend, Paul finds an available exchange of ardour with a bridesmaid (Judith Ivey) and this, along with his damaged association with his father (John Mahoney) supplies additional provender for Nyswaner's well-crafted script. Yorkin's fastidious direction allows for able ad libbing from Daniels and Wright, and is nicely supported by resourceful camerawork from Adam Greenberg who employs classic technique when isolating Weaver within a disquieted environment, by superb editing from John Horger, and by faultless sets and costumes from Leslie Rollins and Elizabeth McBride, respectively. In the last analysis, the film fares well because of attention to detail, originating largely from the writing of Nyswaner who strongly evokes small-city working-class Pennsylvania (although primarily shot near Dallas-Fort Worth) with each scene neatly sculpted and generally avoiding the cliched, helped by strong acting through the final scene, remarkable itself for its insouciant sense of actuality.
