Stanley & Iris (1990)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writers (WGA):

Pat Barker (novel)
Harriet Frank Jr. (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

9 February 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Some people need love spelled out for them.

Plot:

An illiterate cook (Robert De Niro) at a company cafeteria tries for the attention of a newly widowed woman (Jane Fonda)...

Plot Keywords:

Face Slap | Punctuation In Title | Premarital Sex | Pregnancy | Human Relationship

Cast

Jane Fonda	...	Iris Estelle King
Robert De Niro	...	Stanley Everett Cox
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Sharon
Martha Plimpton	...	Kelly King
Harley Cross	...	Richard King
Jamey Sheridan	...	Joe Fuller
Feodor Chaliapin Jr.	...	Leonides Cox (as Feodor Chaliapin)
Zohra Lampert	...	Elaine
Loretta Devine	...	Bertha
Julie Garfield	...	Belinda
Karen Ludwig	...	Melissa
Kathy Kinney	...	Bernice
Laurel Lyle	...	Muriel
Mary Testa	...	Joanne
Katherine Cortez	...	Jan

Also Known As:

Letters (USA) (working title)
Union Street (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (DuArt)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:L | France:U | South Korea:15 | West Germany:12 (f) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Lantana

Trivia:

Martin Ritt's final film. It is also the last screenplay written by Ritt's favorite author couple Harriet Frank Jr. & Irving Ravetch

Goofs:

Continuity: The final shot of that sequence supposedly takes place at Post and Washington Streets, but a street sign partly out of focus in the background is clearly different from either of those.

Quotes:

Iris: A girl's best friend is her mama. At least that's what it says on the greeting cards.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Biography Special: The Fondas (2004) (TV)

Beautiful blue collar romance highlights problem of illiteracy

This may not be a memorable classic, but it is a touching romance with an important theme that stresses the importance of literacy in modern society and the devastating career and life consequences for any unfortunate individual lacking this vital skill.

The story revolves around Iris, a widow who becomes acquainted with a fellow employee at her factory job, an illiterate cafeteria worker named Stanley. Iris discovers that Stanley is unable to read, and after he loses his job, she gives him reading lessons at home in her kitchen. Of course, as you might predict, the two, although initially wary of involvement, develop feelings for each other...

Jane Fonda competently plays Iris, a woman with problems of her own, coping with a job lacking prospects, two teenage children (one pregnant), an unemployed sister and her abusive husband. However, Robert DeNiro is of course brilliant in his endearing portrayal of the intelligent and resourceful, but illiterate, Stanley, bringing a dignity to the role that commands respect. They aren't your typical charming young yuppie couple, as generally depicted in on screen romances, but an ordinary working class, middle aged pair with pretty down to earth struggles.

I won't give the ending away, but it's a lovely, heartwarming romance and a personal look into the troubling issue of adult illiteracy, albeit from the perspective of a fictional character.