Stanley & Iris (1989)

An illiterate cook at a company cafeteria tries for the attention of a newly widowed woman. As they get to know one another, she discovers his inability to read. When he is fired, she takes... See full summary »

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writers:

Pat Barker (novel), Harriet Frank Jr. (screenplay),

Stars:

Jane Fonda, Robert De Niro, Swoosie Kurtz

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jane Fonda	...	Iris King
Robert De Niro	...	Stanley Cox
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Sharon
Martha Plimpton	...	Kelly
Harley Cross	...	Richard
Jamey Sheridan	...	Joe
Feodor Chaliapin Jr.	...	Leonides Cox (as Feodor Chaliapin)
Zohra Lampert	...	Elaine
Loretta Devine	...	Bertha
Julie Garfield	...	Belinda
Karen Ludwig	...	Melissa
Kathy Kinney	...	Bernice
Laurel Lyle	...	Muriel
Mary Testa	...	Joanne
Katherine Cortez	...	Jan

Storyline

An illiterate cook at a company cafeteria tries for the attention of a newly widowed woman. As they get to know one another, she discovers his inability to read. When he is fired, she takes on trying to teach him to read in her kitchen each night.

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Plot Keywords:

cook | baby | tutoring | map | library | 

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Taglines:

Some people need love spelled out for them.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 February 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Letters

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$5,816,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$5,820,015 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lantana, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Star Partners II Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (DuArt)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the filming in Waterbury, Connecticut, local Vietnam veterans picketed the production, protesting Jane Fonda's controversial anti-war activities of a decade and a half earlier. Fonda visited Hanoi in July 1972.

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Goofs

The final shot of that sequence supposedly takes place at Post and Washington Streets, but a street sign partly out of focus in the background is clearly different from either of those.

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Quotes

Iris: A girl's best friend is her mama. At least that's what it says on the greeting cards.

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Connections

Referenced in Biography: The Fondas (2004)

User Reviews

A so-so movie made great by the stars

Excellent acting by the 2 main stars, De Niro and Fonda, make this a movie well worth seeing. A story about an illiterate, and a woman who helps him learn to read. In return, he helps her stop clinging to her past husband and learn to enjoy life again. It was interesting to see a slice of American life that's different from the glamour (huge homes with swimming pools) that is so often the backdrop to Hollywood movies (yawn).