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Man, what a difference 20 years or so makes! I'm not sure when I saw this movie, but since it came out in 1979, and I saw it on TV (probably cable at my brother's house)-it was surely in the early 80s. I couldn't remember the movie very well (though I do distinctly remember Burt Reynolds taking the polaroids of Jill Clayburgh in the shower, and her laughing at the tall basketball player) but I knew that I thought it was funny. In fact it was funny enough to go on my short list of movies to watch again soon (you know that one that you never seem to get to). Well imagine my surprise when I saw this video in the bargain-bin of the video store here on the U.S. Army base in Yongsan Korea for two bucks!

Well I liked the movie back then, but I watched it with totally different eyes as a 37 year-old man. It was still funny, but in a much more relative way. Back then I thought Reynold's antics were charming, now I see them as irrepressible. I'm sure I thought Clayburgh's character was a little strange back then, now I see her as vulnerable and true.

This is a very good movie with numerous scenes that are funny and touching. In an industry flooded with banal romantic-comedies this should set the mark.

This is a totally charming and mature romantic comedy unlike anything Hollywood puts out today. It has aged amazingly well and delivers big laughs, soft chuckles, and a few deep sighs. This time, I especially enjoyed when Burt Reynolds, as Phil Potter, shows up at Jill Clayburgh's (Marilyn) and she is having a candlelit dinner for one. The scenes of the divorced men's group are wonderful, as many have already noted. And Candice Bergen was truly funny. If you see this one listed in your TV Guide, make a date with it.

I loved Burt Reynolds when I was wee. And performances like this, for me, are what he was best at. Here's the scoop: he is normal, we are normal, but the world is a bit crazy, and us normal guys have got to navigate it and find true, terrific, wonderful love.

This is a romantic comedy, a genre which seldom produces a great film, and indeed this is not a great film. That said, it is an above - average, very enjoyable film of it's type, which is genuinely LOL funny in places, and has not dated at all. And, it has a nice Christmas-time thing going on, which may or not be relevant to your interest. Slightly wonky (New York / Bostony) music is fitting, and I would defo give Bergen a cuddle with that see-through blouse thing on.

When the end credits come up, with another cheesy song, you might feel that you know a wee bit more about humanity, and more again about what love really is, and isn't.

"Starting Over" works very well because it's a film made for and by adults. And it's got some very funny moments.

Yes, it's got all the trappings of a typical "ROMCOM" but back in 1979, the ROMCOM formula had not developed into the hackneyed, tiresome concept that it became. By the late 90's, the style that "Starting Over" began seems to have expired (it arguably reached it's zenith circa 1994 with "Sleeping in Seattle". Whether one liked that movie or not, all the trappings of the stylized ROMCOM formula were firmly and grossly used in that one.) But I digress.

"Starting Over" works so well because of Pakula's typical very low keyed direction which allows James L. Brooks' screenplay to shine. But this film would be nothing without the cast. Clayburgh is fine but of the three leads, she's the least appealing. Don't get me wrong. She's an engaging presence in the film and it's quite understandable why Reynolds is attracted to her (except for a shower scene in which, to me, she over reacts). The hands down winners in this film are Reynolds and especially Bergen. Bergen tapped into a completely unexpected flair for comedy as a royally flaky song writing ex-wife of Reynolds. She's a gas especially in an hysterical scene when she begins singing a disco ditty ("Better Than Ever") in a hotel room while trying to reconcile with Reynolds.

Reynolds is a complete revelation. Gone is his trademark mustache and cockiness and it works to marvelous effect. He's mature, low key and completely likable. It would've been so easy for Reynolds to play down the part to the point where he appears to be sleepwalking (ala William Hurt in "The Accidental Tourist"). But here, though he's depressed, he's also alive. He's just a guy going through something that he wishes he didn't have to. He loves/likes his ex-wife and can't understand why he's the odd man out.

From a plot and structural standpoint, "Starting Over" isn't much. It's setup and resolution are standard and completely unremarkable. Aside from the wonderful cast and good writing, the film is photographed beautifully by Sven Nyquist. This Swede (who was Ingmar Bergman's chief Director of Photography) knows how to film chilly northern environments and he gives Boston in winter an appealing glow.

This well made adaptation of Dan Wakefield's novel has wonderful comic moments and full-bodied performances. Burt Reynolds underplays his role and does some of the finest work of his roller-coaster career (it's up there with "Boogie Nights" and "Deliverance"). Candice Bergen is hysterical in the role of the wife who wants freedom and a singing career. (Little did we know in 1979 that Bergen would go onto great comedic success as Murphy Brown)James L. Brooks does a terrific job with the screenplay - the divorced men's group scenes really ring true and the moment when they have to leave their community center space so the women's divorce group can then use the room is uncomfortable and very funny. In my opinion, Clayburgh gives an up and down performance, sometimes really connecting with Reynolds and other times she just seems to be impersonating Diane Keaton. Fine supporting work by the always reliable Charles Durning and Austin Pendleton. This film is very hard to find in video stores for some reason. I just happned to catch it again on cable and was pleasantly surprised with how well it holds up.