The Buddy System

Seemed like a harmless little movie, no exploding cars, morphing robots, no murders. Just a little nerdy (Will W brags on being nerdy, he was just in type) kid with issues, having a single Mom for a parent. She also has issues being enmeshed with Tim (sleeping in each other's beds) and excessively guilt-ridden over his shortcomings. Joe does security at Tim's school, is also trying to write a book, invent a portable dog washer, pay the bills, keep his girlfriend happy (she gets pregnant) and maintain the relationship which Tim is trying to cook up with his mom. Naturally the relationship ebbs and flows, everybody moves, links are broken and reestablished, emotions come and go. All three main actors do a workmanlike job, as their careers are just about to skyrocket.

This was a cute little love story starring Richard Dreyfuss before he became pompous, Susan Sarandon before she became sexy, and Wil Wheaton before he became utterly insufferable. The love is more a familial kind of thing; Dreyfuss and Sarandon never really generate much romantic "heat," but the family connection that Joe develops with Emily and Tim is really nice. Jean Stapleton comes off (appropriately) as really chilly in this, a good performance that reminds one what a terrific performance Edith Bunker always was. For once, Nancy Allen doesn't stink up the joint like she usually does, because her shallow airheaded character seems fairly close to her real personality. This is one of those forgotten movies that turn up occasionally on Saturday afternoon TV, but it's a nice 2 hour diversion.

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.

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 ****

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.