JLRMovieReviews Jack Lemmon learns he is dying and tries to finally connect with his son (played by Robby Benson), whom he pretty much abandoned when he left his ex-wife, Lee Remick. A man who has no real close relationships, he is loved by many acquaintances because of his outrageousness, his carefree attitude, his one-liners and clownish cut-ups; in short, he is "a crowd-pleaser," as someone in the film calls him. For all his love of life (and women) that comes through to the viewer, this is also one of the most depressing films I have ever seen. I have seen hundreds of films and seen a lot of somber, serious, and/or downbeat movies, and this was painstakingly real in its depiction of loneliness, regret, and in facing death. In fact, that night I dreamed of Jack Lemmon, and I never dream of movie stars. Having said that and also that this film may be flawed, I would watch this again, I think. Jack Lemmon gives another great performance and deservedly received an Oscar nomination for it. There is no real plot save for his trying to connect to Robby, whose character is unusually "old" for a boy his age, and truthfully whose mannerisms reminds me of someone I know. There is an array of supporting characters to lighten up the mood, including Kim Cattrall and an unusual nurse. "Tribute" is a special film about real people who are trying to reach out before it's too late.

strathaven-1 I am bias though because He is my uncle Andy!! I loved him and miss him much these days since his passing. He was a great Actor and loved his craft.He was just starting to get noticed when he died. He did a lot for Canadian Television. My Uncle Andy worked with some great Classic Actors like David Niven. He told me once that Acting was one of the greatest freeing of the soul. and that it gave him great joy! He also had a great love for the theater. He said that true actors never want to be a star they just want to be part of the process. A good actor is a en-sable actor. Its the group that make the greats. Jimmy Burgess

preppy-3 A shallow Broadway press agent (Jack Lemmon) discovers he's dying. At the same time his ex-wife (Lee Remick) and their kid (Robby Benson) visit. They all try to come to terms with his impending death and bond.Sounds pretty terrible doesn't it? The script is annoyingly predictable, it goes on far too long and Benson is just horrible but this is still worth catching just for Lemmon. I've heard he did this on stage beforehand so he knew the character and plays it to perfection. He's just great from beginning to end. He was justly nominated for an Academy Award for this. Remick isn't in this much but she does wonders with a clichéd character. Also the wonderful Colleen Dewhurst was sadly underused as Lemmon's doctor. Still for Lemmon's performance alone this is worth catching. It looses points because of the predictable script and Benson's truly horrible performance.

writerasfilmcritic "Tribute" stunk to high hell. Jack Lemmon is capable of brilliant work but he can be lousy when he goes too far over the top with slapstick humor (loved that chicken suit, Jack) and I defy anyone who doesn't need serious help to watch the last scene without groaning audibly and reaching for a barf bag. This continually annoying and exasperating ode to putrid schmaltz contained all the phony, forced emotions that the likes of Aaron Spelling made famous with such horrible TV shows as "Loveboat." In addition, the actor who played Lemmon's son was such a vile little creep that we actually hoped someone would run him over, yet we were supposed to care that his dad never gave him enough personal attention. By the way, was the girl who gave this jerk a tumble just a tad too sugary and sunny for words and are we seriously supposed to believe that she would stick around for dose after dose of his whiny nonsense? How's about the whore with a heart of gold? Do you know of any prostitutes who get thrown surprise parties hosted by all their satisfied johns? How frigging ridiculous. And was that woman doctor a total pain, or what? At the conclusion, when Lemmon smooched his "son" full on the mouth and then dropped his pants, the reaction shots (especially hers) were just plain sick. This one was a real stinkeroo, a 'tribute' to phony emotions, bad acting, and a rotten script. Don't bother unless you need an emetic.