Synopsis

In New York City's Central Park, elderly African American superintendent Midge Carter attempts to enjoy his newspaper while Nat Moyer, a fast-talking former radical, repeatedly interrupts him with tall tales and political opinions. Their unlikely friendship grows as they confront retirement, family pressure, urban danger, and the indignities of aging, with Nat determined to keep both men engaged with life.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is based on Herb Gardner's stage play, which premiered on Broadway on November 19, 1985, and ran for 891 performances.

• The Broadway production won the 1986 Tony Award for Best Play. Judd Hirsch also won a Tony for originating the role of Nat Moyer, later played on screen by Walter Matthau.

• The title comes from an old vaudeville joke in which one character repeatedly mistakes another person for someone named Rappaport.

• The movie marked Herb Gardner's final produced screenplay adaptation and his last film as a director.

• Salem Ludwig, who appears as the waiter, had understudied Nat during the play's original off-Broadway and Broadway runs.

• Walter Matthau and Ossie Davis had previously appeared together in Grumpy Old Men (1993).