Bye Bye Love

I have seen this movie twice now and I have to post my opinions as to why this movie is crap in terms of writing, directing, and editing... possibly even casting.

"Bye Bye, Love" stars the TV star, Paul Reiser, as a guy who divorced his wife for reasons we never really know... and he is still in love with her. Matthew Modine plays an always smiling (never acting) "charmer." Randy Quaid plays another odd character that never is well developed because the movie has too many plots and characters to really focus on anyone in particular.

One thing that sickens me about this movie is how much blatant advertising is done within it. Off the top of my head, I remember Kettle Chips, Minute Maid, and last and certainly not least, McDonald's. I bet MickeyD's patroned the entire movie, to show that divorcees should meet there every weekend to trade their kids, seeing as the divorce rate in America is over 50% of all married couples. What a demographic to hit for! I never heard of people meeting at fast food restaurants to exchange their kids for the weekend before this.

Next thing, Eliza Dushku hitting on the guy who works at McDonalds? How realistic is that? Yes, I realize all of you Buffy fans that she is "Faith" but it doesn't make up for the fact that her character was undeveloped and weak. For example, when she gets drunk and screams at her father and says all of that typical "i broke up the marriage" crap... where did any of that come from? We are given no clues as to why she's angry except for Reiser's "that age between 13 and 36" quote.

The chronology in this movie was hard to follow, too, because most of the scenes played independent to the others, while going back and forth between the 40 stories going on. The music montages added to the story, making it even worse than it already was. The lovely "wrap-up" at the end really made the story feel like it ended at a very awkward place. The climax was very... semi-climatic. Quaid's character is a rollercoaster of uncertainty. He's not a dynamic character... he's a schiz. So is his lovely date, Garafolo.

This movie doesn't give insight as to what men are going through after a divorce... it gives what women want men to be like. I would only recommend this movie to people who want to be brainwashed by Dr. Laura-esque psychology and the mesmers at McDonalds.

Life is not easy for three divorced fathers who meet every weekend at a fast food diner to collect their kids from their exes in this mix of comedy and drama starring Matthew Modine, Randy Quaid and Paul Reiser. Each provides a heartfelt performance and Rob Reiner is also solid as a 'radio shrink' whose intermittent broadcasts seem to taunt the trio as he laments the state of marriage today and constantly sides with the wives when discussing divorce. For all the angst that the film builds up - suggesting that fathers always lose out in the divorce process - the comedy treatment dulls any axe that the film has to grind. Janeane Garofalo has the funniest scene of the film as an awful first date whose rampant feminism amusingly gets in the way of all conversation (and dining), however, her scenes are far removed from the divorce woes at the heart of the film. The film indeed works best when it is not trying to be funny with a memorable scene early on in which one father gets very annoyed at his ex-wife spending her alimony payments on her car rather than the kids. Another great scene has one of the men staring out of the window at his ex-wife's lazy new lover, sunbathing with sunglasses on, moping around and doing nothing. The sense of indignation in this segment is quite heartfelt ("how could she prefer him to me?") without the need for a single word to be uttered. As mentioned though, the movie is mostly comedy and never an especially engaging one at that. The film's heart is certainly in the right place, but a slight change of tone could have done wonders here.

I loved this movie from the start and I still love it.Fifty times no make that 100 times beter than "Parenthood" it had good actors that matched their character's personalities to me.I'm a huge fan of Mathew Modine but the two best actors were Randy Quaid and Janeane Garofalo.Both were adorable and funny.All the kids were good too and kudos to Paul Rieser for a heartwarming performance with screen daughter Eliza Dushku.One bad thing-the pairing of the best friend with his buddy's ex-wife.Bull! They didn't have to go there.I bought this movie and I can watch it everyday.Funny,sweet, and I'm sure all families of divorce wish it was as easy as the movie made it.

9/10 stars

This is a very enjoyable little movie and after seven years and numerous viewings, I still watch it every time it's on TV. Of all the movies I've seen dealing with divorce and broken homes this one comes the closest to portraying what it was like (at least for me and my family). Best of all, it's not a depressing downer of a movie. It's fun to watch and emotional at the same time. The most effective part of the film for me was the relationship between Paul Reiser and his daughter since it reminded me so much of my dad and sister. All of the actors are extremely well chosen (minus the very bland Mathew Modine). It handles the topic of divorce responsibly and doesn't load on the melodramatics. For anyone who's gone through a divorce and wondered "Now what?", or a child of divorce... you should get a lot of this movie. I really, really liked it.

Good chemistry between the characters - whether it's friends, parents, ex's, or lovers. The timing was right on, and everyone delivered.

Great casting from the Radio Psychologist (Rob Reiner) down to the last little kid.

Randy Quaid is one actor that usually needs tempering in his roles.....but not this one. He managed to be outrageous, testosterone laden, and rough-cut without sacrificing the depth of his character.

This was also the first movie in which I'd seen Janeane Garofalo (aka "The Date"), and I immediately added her to my list of favorites. I've since rented several other of her films, all of which I've enjoyed - especially "The Truth About Cats & Dogs".

Also keep an eye out for Mae Whitman ("Michele") - She needs a little more seasoning, but someday this kid is going to have "Oscar-winner" in front of her name.

A thoroughly enjoyable film.