Stanley & Iris

Stanley & Iris is a drama about two people in midlife who form a connection that changes both of their lives. Stanley Cox works as a cook in a company cafeteria and is quiet and set in his ways. Iris King is a widow raising her children and holding her household together. After an accidental encounter, the two get to know each other, and Iris realizes that Stanley cannot read. When he loses his job, she begins teaching him to read in her kitchen in the evenings, and the lessons become the foundation of a relationship that helps each of them move forward.

The film was directed by Martin Ritt, his tenth feature and the one that followed Nuts. The screenplay is by Harriet Frank Jr. and Irving Ravetch, who wrote it in collaboration with Ritt. Jane Fonda plays Iris and Robert De Niro plays Stanley, with Swoosie Kurtz, Martha Plimpton, Jamey Sheridan and Feodor Chaliapin Jr. in supporting roles.

Made for a budget of 23 million dollars, Stanley & Iris earned about 6 million dollars worldwide, a result well below its cost. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.4 from roughly 9,400 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.5 from 182 votes. The film critics' score stands at 5 out of 10 from 17 reviews, lower than the audience ratings on both platforms.