The Buddy System

One doesn't so much watch "The Buddy System" as struggle through it. Unwed mother Susan Sarandon is studying to be a court stenographer but can't pass the final exam. Meanwhile, grade school son Wil Wheaton--who tells his classmates that his father is rich and powerful and that's why he never shows up for the school plays--makes friends with Richard Dreyfuss as the school's security guard, who doesn't turn the kid in after he discovers the boy's mother has gone to great lengths to place him there despite living outside the school's jurisdiction. Screenwriter Mary Agnes Donoghue doesn't even try to disguise her desire to ape Neil Simon's wisecracking romcoms--and certainly casting Dreyfuss in his role was a coup, refreshing one's fondness for "The Goodbye Girl"--but between Donoghue's crassness and director Glenn Jordan's lethargic pacing, the movie is a chore at 110mns. There are two gay slurs within the first few scenes, which tips the audience off that everyone on-screen is strictly heterosexual (and if this isn't enough, both Dreyfuss and Sarandon are seeing other people, with Dreyfuss' girlfriend Nancy Allen playing her first scene in a black bra and panties). For her part, Sarandon works hard at being an adorably lenient mom, and she gets a good, testy rhythm going with wheedling mother Jean Stapleton. Dreyfuss, going for restraint, is more nasal than usual, and it doesn't help that his character (who's also a part-time inventor and part-time writer!) is a sap. The filmmakers seem to think he's a catch, though...and why not? In the end, he talks mom into buying her kid a dog. *1/2 from ****

Dreyfuss stars in the same role as his Eliot Garfield in "The Goodbye Girl," while Sarandon plays an insecure single mother in this rather shaky romantic comedy. It's all typical. Boy meets girl. Nothing too exciting.

Susan Sarandon, Richard Dreyfus.

This is a mess of a rom/com. The adolescent boy of a single mom makes friends with an adult male school security guard by virtue of being caught attending school in the wrong school district. Upon the discovery, the child offers his mother as a bribe to the officer to prevent the guard reporting the transgression.

The premise is creative, to say the least, and the performances by Sarandon and Dreyfus are heartwarming and real. I liked this, but as usual, I'm in the minority. This film is vastly underrated, by virtue of the quality of performance and presentation involved. The dialog between those two is natural and believable.

All in all, though it's dated, it's a quirky, cute, heartwarming rom/com. And, while it's not the stuff of Friday/Saturday night viewing, it IS worth making time for.

It rates a 7.2/10 from...

the Fiend :.

Nice forum for a young Richard Dryfuss and Susan Sarandon. The story line is a little sappy and way too predictable.

All the characters are stereotypical of the times (early 80's). Maybe seeing the movie in 1984 I would have felt differently about the story line. However, in 2001 it seems trite and fixed.

I loved The Buddy System. Yes, it was very cheesy and completely predictable. But, if you like slushy romantic dramas, this one is for you. Richard Dreyfuss is brilliant as usual as the wannabe writer. Susan Sarandon plays the potential love interest, and the ever cute Wil Wheaton as her little son. The scene in which Timmy (Wheaton) explains to his mother (Sarandon) about the meaning of "The Buddy System" is like the core of the film - this is where you understand the whole meaning of it. A very cosy movie that leaves you believing there could be happy endings in real life, too.