I'm Not Rappaport

( 3 )

Overview

In this screen adaptation of the award-winning play by Herb Gardner (who also directed the film), Nat Moyer (Walter Matthau) and Midge Carter (Ossie Davis) are two elderly men who sit on the same park bench each afternoon and have developed a relationship based on playful verbal sparring. Nat is an eccentric Jewish leftist who uses a dizzying variety of voices and assumed personalities to get his way, while Midge is the African-American superintendent of an apartment building who is afraid that he's going to be ...
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Overview

In this screen adaptation of the award-winning play by Herb Gardner (who also directed the film), Nat Moyer (Walter Matthau) and Midge Carter (Ossie Davis) are two elderly men who sit on the same park bench each afternoon and have developed a relationship based on playful verbal sparring. Nat is an eccentric Jewish leftist who uses a dizzying variety of voices and assumed personalities to get his way, while Midge is the African-American superintendent of an apartment building who is afraid that he's going to be put out to pasture, as he's about to turn 80. Nat tries to encourage Midge to join him in his good-natured con games (which are performed for good causes and not for profit), but Midge remains wary. While Midge sweats out a possible retirement, Nat is trying to deal with his daughter Clara (Amy Irving), who wants to put him in a nursing home. Meanwhile, a drug dealer called The Cowboy (Craig T. Nelson) has claimed the park as his own territory, and Nat, impersonating a Mafia don, tries to run him out, while he befriends Laurie (Martha Plimpton), a young woman hooked on dope.
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Special Features

[None specified]
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide
Watching two old geezers putter around Central Park may not be most people's idea of engaging cinema, but I'm Not Rappaport makes this kind of septuagenarian buddy dramedy tolerable enough. Walter Matthau and Ossie Davis, both pushing 80, prove they still have sharp command of dialogue and humor, so their lengthy conversations don't induce seat squirming as fast as they might in lesser hands. Matthau in particular is fun as an accomplished and compulsive liar, who fragments together plausible personas without missing a beat. Still, Herb Gardner's adaptation and direction of his own play can't overcome the narrow appeal of its subject matter. It's a great showcase for actors usually relegated to supporting roles (or sent out to pasture) by their age, but that's not much of a selling point beyond their immediate families or fan clubs. Matthau's Marxist meddling with a variety of secondary characters feels stagy, and his scenes with his estranged daughter (Amy Irving) are flat and superfluous. Gardner does capture some of the invigorating life force of Central Park, but 135 minutes of it is too much. A two-person character study should clock in at well under two hours, especially when the characters travel in such a slim radius. I'm Not Rappaport is like one of those long, rambling stories told by a grandfather in dire need of attention, unaware his polite audience is bored to tears.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 8/3/2004
  • UPC: 025192556623
  • Original Release: 1996

    • Rating:

  • Source: Universal Studios
  • Region Code: 1
  • Time: 2:16:00
  • Format: DVD

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Walter Matthau Nat Moyer
Ossie Davis Midge Carter
Amy Irving Clara Gelber
Martha Plimpton Laurie Campbell
Craig T. Nelson The Cowboy
Boyd Gaines Pete Danforth
Guillermo Diaz J.C.
Elina Löwensohn Clara Lemlich
Ron Rifkin Feigenbaum
Marin Hinkle Hannah
Steve Ryan Harry
Richard Council Butcher
Mina Bern
Technical Credits
Herb Gardner Director, Screenwriter
Yudi Bennett Asst. Director
Mark Friedberg Production Designer
Adam Holender Cinematographer
Lynn Kressel Casting
Jennifer Von Mayrhauser Costumes/Costume Designer
Gerry Mulligan Songwriter
Emily Paine Editor
John Penotti Producer
James J. Sabat Sound/Sound Designer
David Sameth Executive Producer
Wendey Stanzler Editor
John Starke Producer
Ginger Tougas Art Director
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Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. General Strike [7:23]
2. On Your Own [6:41]
3. Deep Cover [7:52]
4. We're Ghosts [8:03]
5. Government Grass [6:49]
6. Still Smoking [7:08]
7. Dirty Old Men [6:30]
8. Time is the Villain [6:59]
9. Strike of the Cobra [11:05]
10. Evil in the Park [1:28]
11. Fallen Comrade [5:28]
12. Personal KGB [4:30]
13. Things You Must Know [11:15]
14. Bad Business [5:45]
15. The Travel Agents [7:27]
16. Game's Over [6:29]
17. Coming Clean [7:12]
18. End Titles [12:26]
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Menu

Side #1 --
   Scenes
   Languages
      Spoken Language: English
      Captioned for the Hearing Impaired: English
      Subtitles: Español
      Subtitles: Français
      Subtitles: None
   Play
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 3 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(2)

4 Star

(1)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

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1 Star

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Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Great comedy

    I would call it a classic, brought about by two actors who seem to complement one another. A splendid comedy that deverses to be seen and enjoyed. -RAA.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    I Loved the play, and I Love the movie too

    Herb Gardner's big-screen version of his Tony-award winning play, 'I'm not Rappaport',was just as wonderful to watch as the play itself! The late great Walter Matthau and Ossie Davis shared great chemistry together as Nat Moyer and Midge Carter. In the tradition of 'The Odd Couple' and The 'Grumpy Old Men' films with the late great Jack Lemmon, Matthau and Davis are indeed a slightly acidic odd couple. You have Moyer, an eccentric jewish pro-labor rabble rouser who assumes the roles of various identities just to get his way, paired with Carter, a half-blind african-american superintendent who is on the verge of retirement. It's funny, touching, and very entertaining! I truly recommend it!!!!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 23, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews