Author! Author!

Pacino can do you a volatile, middle class intellectual with one hand behind his back, and along with his streetwise brood has all the best and funniest lines. Read full review

Hiller makes this warm, friendly and sometimes cute, but he doesn't make it move very quickly. Read full review

Author! Author! is never even able to establish a consistent attitude toward its characters. It veers uneasily between slapstick and pathos, between heart-rending family conferences and a ridiculous final scene. Read full review

Israel Horowitz's script fails to develop sympathetic adult characters, leaving the children to give the film whatever charm it may have. Read full review

As in his other comedies (e.g., The In-Laws and Silver Streak), Arthur Hiller directs the action in fits and starts, following each burst of energy with what seems like a quarter- hour's rest period. He presents us with major or minor instances of inappropriate behavior, then sits back and waits for humor to emerge from the confusion. [19 Jun 1982, p.C6]

A movie that's too patently "heart-warming" for its own good, and boasting one of the most revolting title-songs of all time. Read full review

Eager to seem warmhearted and endearing, Author! Author! is frustrated by Pacino's conspicuous resistance. If anything, this uncharacteristic vehicle illustrates his inability to lighten up an emphatically gloomy, brooding screen presence. [19 Jun 1982, p.C1]

The script, by Israel Horovitz, has trim, funny lines but also terrible, overingratiating ones, and some of the most doddering, bonehead situations to be soon on the big screen in years. Directed by Arthur Hiller, the film is blotchy in just about every conceivable way.

There's nothing sadder than a movie that tries to be adorable and isn't. Author! Author! tries so hard that the screen seems to sweat. [05 Jul 1982, p.72]