Table for Five is a 1983 American theatrical dramatic film, starring Jon Voight and Richard Crenna.
Plot
J.P. Tannen (Voight) is a former professional golfer residing in California, who is estranged from his three children, who live in New York with their mother Kathleen (Millie Perkins) and stepfather, attorney Mitchell (Crenna). Tannen had been emotionally separated from his children, and in an effort to re-enter their lives, decides to take them on a Mediterranean cruise. Once arriving in New York, where they will board the ship, Tannen, who still has feelings for Kathleen, tries to convince her he's a changed man, although she's not convinced.
The cruise begins without incident, although Tannen is often distracted by the prospect of picking up women on board, including French archaeologist Marie (Marie-Christine Barrault), often leaving the kids to fend for themselves for entertainment. Tannen soon finds himself in the role of a hands-on father, much to the chagrin of the kids. Youngest son Truman-Paul (Robby Kiger) has a learning disability, and Tannen pushes him into learning to overcome it. Tannen later creates a scene when adopted oldest son Trung (Son Hoang Bui) is caught stealing food from the ship's galley and trying to order drinks with a phony ID.
Tannen soon realizes that he can't really function as a traditional father, and suggests to the kids that they think of each other as "friends". With this, the trip is back on track with the ship's first port-of-call, Rome. But while en route to their next stop, Athens, Tannen receives devastating news - Kathleen was killed in a vicious car accident while taking the family dog to the vet. The grief-stricken Tannen meets with Mitchell in Athens, where Mitchell explains that he went ahead and buried Kathleen, then flew to Europe to notify the children, and escort them home, where a memorial service would later be held. Tannen insists on more time, preferring to tell the kids himself, which Mitchell unsuccessfully tries to talk him out of.
The trip moves on to Cairo. With the kids sightseeing, Tannen meets with Mitchell again in a local tavern, to tell him that he was considering pursuing full custody of the children. The talk escalates into a profanity-laced argument, with Mitchell accusing Tannen of being an absentee father and vowing to use his capacity as a lawyer to ruin him. Tannen and Marie later join the kids on a trip to the pyramids, where Tannen informs the kids that their mother has died. The children are devastated.
At the next stop, Tunis, Trung runs away by taking the first launch to shore, with the intention to work his way back to the U.S. Daughter Tilde (Roxana Zal) tells Tannen that Trung has a history of running away and they take the launch to shore to fetch him. They discover him in a marketplace and catch up to him after a chase. Tannen forces Trung to open up to him, and Trung tells him that his own father (Tannen) left him, and that he needs Tannen as a father, not a "friend".
Tannen meets with Mitchell in Genoa, where he's been waiting to take the kids back to the United States, and gently informs Mitchell that he's keeping the kids. He then rattles off a list of the kids' friends and teachers, proving to Mitchell that he's very much in tune with his kids lives.
One plot point is tied into the title of the movie. Tannen had ordered a table for five in the ship's dining room, secretly hoping that Kathleen may join them on the cruise and they could work toward a reconciliation. When Tilde questions Tannen on the first night of the cruise as to why he ordered a table for five, Tannen tells her he wanted an extra chair in case they ran into a passenger traveling alone. The extra chair is never used, even though Tilde finds an elderly gentleman at one point to use it, but is turned away rudely by Tannen.
Production/Reviews
The film uses location shooting extensively. For the cruise scenes, producers chose the S.S. Vistafjord (now with the Saga Cruise Line), which at the time was considered the biggest cruise ship in the Western Hemisphere. Many of the cruise scenes were actually shot at sea during an actual voyage. Scenes were also shot on location in Rome, Athens, and at the Giza pyramids.
The film opened in the United States on February 19, 1983, to mainly positive reviews. The film was praised for its strong acting performances, especially by Voight, Perkins and the three younger actors.
References/External Links
TV Guide Review
Rotten Tomatoes
Internet Movie Database
