''Nobody's Fool'' is a 1986

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written by

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Beth Henley Elizabeth Becker Henley (born May 8, 1952) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actress. Her play ''Crimes of the Heart'' won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 1981 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play, and a ...

. It stars

Rosanna Arquette Rosanna Lisa Arquette (; born August 10, 1959) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie, Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film ''The Executioner's Song ( ...

Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. His career began with a leading role in ''King of the Gypsies'' (1978) for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He was nominated again at the Golden Globes fo ...

and

Mare Winningham A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four y ...

Plot

Cassie (Rosanna Arquette) who seeks love and escape from her mundane ordinary life meets a traveling Shakespeare troupe offering a community acting workshop.

Cast

as Cassie *

as Riley *

as Pat *

Jim Youngs Jim Youngs (born October 13, 1956) is an American actor. Early life Youngs was born in Old Bethpage, New York, the brother of actor John Savage and journalist Robin Young. Career He appeared in such films as '' The Wanderers'', ''Footloose'' ...

as Billy *

Louise Fletcher Estelle Louise Fletcher (July 22, 1934 – September 23, 2022) was an American actress who portrayed the antagonist Nurse Ratched in '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975), which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress, a BAFTA Award, ...

as Pearl *

Gwen Welles Gwen Welles (born Gwen Goldberg, March 4, 1951 – October 13, 1993) was an American actress. Early years Gwen Welles was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as Gwen Goldberg. She was the daughter of clothing designer Rebecca Welles and Barton G ...

Shirley *

Stephen Tobolowsky Stephen Harold Tobolowsky (born May 30, 1951) is an American character actor. He is known for film roles such as insurance agent Ned Ryerson in ''Groundhog Day'' and amnesiac Sammy Jankis in '' Memento'', as well as such television characters as ...

as Kirk * Charlie Barnett as Nick * J.J. Hardy as Ralphy * William Steis as Frank *

Belita Moreno Aurabela "Belita" Moreno (born November 1, 1949) is an American actress best known for her roles as Benita "Benny" Lopez on the ABC sitcom ''George Lopez'' and Edwina Twinkacetti and Lydia Markham on '' Perfect Strangers''. Early life Aurabela Mo ...

as Jane *

Lewis Arquette Lewis Michael Arquette (December 14, 1935 – February 10, 2001) was an American film actor, writer, and producer. Arquette was known for playing J.D. Pickett on the television series ''The Waltons'', on which he worked from 1978 to 1981. Life ...

as Mr. Fry *

Ronnie Claire Edwards Ronnie Claire Edwards (February 9, 1933 – June 14, 2016) was an American actress, best known for playing Corabeth Walton Godsey on the TV series ''The Waltons''. Early life Edwards was born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Acting caree ...

as Bingo *

Ann Hearn Ann Hearn (born Ann Neel Simons; June 27, 1953) is an American actress. The daughter of Elizabeth Ann Neel and William “Bill” Simons, she was born in Griffin, Georgia Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County, Georgia. ...

as Linda * Scott Rosensweig as Winston * Cheli Ann Chew as Prissy Lee

Reception

Critical response

Film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlets ...

Michael Wilmington of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' wrote in his review: "''Nobody's Fool'' doesn't really jell, but it's still a sometimes rhapsodically goofy experience. If Arquette doesn't really hold the center together, she at least flies off ravishingly at the edges. The movie is a fond valentine to the special salvations of theater. It's an ode to a squeezed heartland, small-town desperation and sheer, stunning blind love."

Release

''Nobody's Fool'' was released on November 7, 1986 in 290 theatres and grossed $258,100 in its opening weekend. The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

on January 25, 2005, by

MGM Home Entertainment Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment LLC (d/b/a MGM Home Entertainment and formerly known as MGM Home Video, MGM/CBS Home Video and MGM/UA Home Video) is the home video division of the American media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. History 1 ...

References

External links

* * 1986 films 1986 romantic comedy films Films with screenplays by Beth Henley Films scored by James Newton Howard American romantic comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{1980s-romantic-comedy-film-stub