Max Dugan Returns (1983)

As adolescent wish-fulfillment fantasies go, Max Dugan Returns provides an irresistible hook: What if your dumpy house was suddenly populated with enough merchandise to supply a season of Wheel of Fortune prizes? Unfortunately, director Herbert Ross' portrayal of said riches is more compelling than any human component in the picture, and that goes for Jason Robards' vigorous, Howard Hughes-lite turn as the titular benefactor. Neil Simon stalwart Marsha Mason is back in the saddle here as the sensible Nora, caught between her child-like, daughterly love for her father Max and her moral, maternal instincts to Michael (Matthew Broderick, in a memorable debut). But the movie doesn't use its conceit to unearth any universal truths about parents and children, or about the long-buried secrets between this particular pair of them. Instead, what we're left with is a succession of scenes of wide-eyed wonder and awe at stereo equipment, sectional sofas, and Mercedes convertibles. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide