Harry and Jake, two unsuccessful writers, spend a cathartic evening arguing about money, aesthetics, their friendship, and Harry's new manuscript.
When aging, unsuccessful Greenwich Village writer Harry Levine is fired from his job as restaurant doorman, he calls on friend and mentor Jake, ostensibly to collect a long-standing debt. Harry takes the opportunity to solicits his opinion on his latest manuscript, a work of semi-fiction based on their longtime friendship. Although he initially denies having read it, Jake later attacks it on aesthetic grounds, and deep-seated feelings of betrayal and jealousy surface, resulting in a traumatic confrontation.—[email protected]
Harry Levine (Al Pacino) is a washed-up writer -- or so he fears -- who wants nothing more than success and happiness. Somehow, though, he seems to always find himself straying from his grand plan. Hoping for an honest review of his work, Levine spends an hour with his friend Jake Manheim (Jerry Orbach), a man whose wisdom abounds in the twilight of his life. But can an old dog like Harry learn new and, ultimately, more life-affirming tricks?
