Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Pluskylang Great Film overall

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

steven engler There are two stories here. The obvious one is about a man who grows by succeeding in impossible quest: the dutiful son fulfills his dying mother's wish, to meet her idol. That makes for a very pleasant movie. The more interesting story, beautifully summed up in the animation of the opening credits, concerns the role of idols in our lives. The conversation that forms the culminating scene of the movie hints, in several subtle ways, that this relationship has an almost religious dimension: because our interaction with media idols can mark the defining moments of our lives; and because of the intriguing way that Garbo talks... This second story makes this film exceptional.

moonspinner55 Anne Bancroft plays Estelle, a dying Jewish mother who asks her devoted son (Ron Silver) to locate reclusive one-time movie star Greta Garbo and introduce the two before Estelle checks out for good. Might've been entitled "Bancroft Talks" as the actress assaults this uncertain comedic/dramatic/sentimental material for its duration. Hot-or-cold director Sidney Lumet can't get a consistent rhythm going, and Bancroft's constant overacting isn't scaled back at all by the filmmaker--he keeps her right upfront: cute, teary-eyed and ranting. Estelle becomes a drag on this scenario (not that the thinly-conceived plot has much going on besides). Silver and co-stars Carrie Fisher and Catherine Hicks end up with very little to do but support the star, and everyone is trampled by her hamming. *1/2 from ****

Boyo-2 ..then this movie is for you. SPOILER ALERT-Anne Bancroft plays a politically correct mother who loves doing the right thing, sticking up for the small fry, her son Gilbert, and Greta Garbo. Her relationship with her meek son is believable and sometimes touching. When she is diagnosed with a disease that will cut her life short, she declares she wants to meet the elusive icon, and Gilbert is in charge of making her dream a reality. However, Gilbert is not the aggressive type; he is terrorized by his boss, his secretary and his wife (Carrie Fisher is hysterical as his princess bride). So, against his nature, he goes on a search for the actress most unlikely to give a damn about him or his dying mother. Suffice to say the end is bittersweet, and all the actors give it their best. Bancroft is allowed to let loose and has a ball; she is especially good at confronting a group of hardhats who had been verbally harassing a young woman on the street. She is also very good in the scene following her meeting Garbo. Ron Silver is terrific as Gilbert, a put-upon guy if there ever was one. He does find happiness, with a co-worker (Catherine Hicks) and even gets to impress her, when the normally silent Garbo talks to Gilbert long enough to say 'hello' in a chance meeting in Central Park, Hicks is naturally curious and thrilled (by now he's left the selfish Carrie Fisher).The movie is very good, not great. Its extremely hard to believe Hicks would be able to afford her apartment on the salary she must make working in an office job. And as much as the mother/son relationship was touching, I can't help but wonder why such a dynamically strong womans' sensibilities did not rub off on her son, why he's such a dolt. She gave him love but maybe he needed more than that.

Mankin Ron Silver's decision to try and grant his dying mother's wish to meet Greta Garbo becomes an all-consuming obsession in "Garbo Talks" (***1/2). This unusual story touches upon a theme that is seldom explored with much depth in films: the effect the movies or a particular star may have on our entire lives. How many of us have had the experience of watching a golden oldie that evokes a vivid memory of where we were and what our lives were like the very first time we saw it? Most of us, I'll bet. This thought is crystallized in the funny and touching monologue Anne Bancroft delivers in her hospital bed to her idol as she tells Garbo what her films have meant to her during key moments of her life. Ron Silver is effectively low-key as Bancroft's devoted son, and the telling cameos contributed by a great supporting cast playing assorted New York oddballs he meets during his odyssey are a special bonus (Hermione Gingold is a rare hoot). There are a few gaps that could probably have been filled in better between the vignettes (I would have been curious to know how Silver spent his night on Fire Island after missing the last ferry boat), but all-in-all this is a wonderful little sleeper. Those who are tuned into it will know what I mean.