Melvin Dummar is a guy who just can't seem to get a break, until he discovers he's the benificiary of a will leaving him $150 million dollars because he helped a crazy old bum who, it turns out, really was Howard Hughes. Bo Goldman won the Academy Award, the Nat'l and NY Film Critics Awards, and the WGA Award for Best Screenplay. Mary Steenburgen won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, and the LA, NY, and Nat'l Film Critics Awards for Best Supporting Actress. Demme took the NY Film Critics Award for Best Direction. Robards was nominated for an Oscar and LeMat and he were both nominated for a Golden Globe. The film as a whole was nominated for a Golden Globe and won the Nat'l Film Critics Award for Best Film.