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CHAPTER TWO is a long and rambling film version of one of Neil Simon's best plays. Like BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS and BILOXI BLUES, this story is based on a part of Neil Simon's own life. James Caan plays George Schneider, a fictionalized Simon, a writer who has just returned from a trip around the world after the death of his wife. Sadly, George made the mistake of visiting all of the places he traveled with his late wife and it has apparently not aided his grieving process. At the urging of his brother, Leo (well-played by Joseph Bologna), George agrees to go on a blind date with an attractive divorcée named Jennie McLaine (Marsha Mason). Their first date is actually over the phone but they do eventually come face to face and move into a whirlwind romance which leads to a quick engagement and marriage...perhaps too quick because shortly into his new marriage, George realizes he really hasn't finished grieving over his first wife and begins to push Jennie away. Simon's first wife passed away and he eventually met and married Marsha Mason, so essentially, Mason is playing herself here and not surprisingly does it pretty effectively. However, in attempt to expand the play for the screen, it has become labored and way too long...the scenes of George and Jennie on their honeymoon go on way too long and bring the film to a dead halt. Another problem is James Cann's wooden performance as George. Caan never seems to grasp the rhythm of Simon's writing and makes George a little too melancholy. Bologna is solid, as always, as is an anorexic looking Valerie Harper, who appears as Jennie's best friend, Faye. If you're a Marsha Mason fan, it's worth checking out, others beware...

Shortly after the death of his beloved wife, a witty but man-of-moods writer falls in love with a temperamental and equally witty actress, being encouraged by his full-blooded brother and her romance-hungry best friend who have problems of their own.

This film version of Simon's autobiographical play no doubt rewards his addicts with several bright one-liners and also some permissive, gloomier-than-usual domestic drama, (all sparked by detailed performances), but possibly disappoints others with its thin and slightly uneasy plot, occasional bursts of sentimentality and the unconvincing motivations of its central character.

For the most part I enjoyed this movie. Neil Simon has created many great plays leading to movies such as Brighton Beach, The Odd Couple, Seems Like Old Times and many, many more. Marsha Mason is definitely talented and able to carry off this somewhat difficult role. I also have loved James Caan in other movies such as Godfather, Misery, Kiss Me Goodbye, Gardens of Stone to name only a few. However, his performance as George Schneider seems lacking in content. His wittiness and humor are great and he shines when doing comedy, but with the drama -- such as when conflicted with a new relationship and ultimately, he jumps into marriage not really knowing his new bride. Also Joseph Bologna and Valerie Harper are excellent as the co-stars who ended up pursuing an extramarital affair. I believe it is really Marsha Mason's superb acting that carries most of this film. She was also great in The Goodbye Girl. The only other problem with the dialog is some of Neil Simon's one-liners for Marsha Mason seem trite and overly worn-out. Simon seems to use the same lines over and over again for other scripts he has written. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

This agonizing comedy-drama got surprisingly sterling reviews upon its release in 1979. I remember opening the movie-section of the L.A. Times and looking at a 2-page advertisement for "Chapter Two" filled with glowing captions like: "Better than 'The Goodbye Girl'!" and "Neil Simon does it again!" What does Neil Simon do? He takes an autobiographical situation (remarrying too soon after the death of a beloved spouse) and makes it rusty, unpleasant and--worst of all--unfunny. James Caan plays Neil--er..that is, George--a writer who can't seem to get back into life after losing his wife; enter spirited Marsha Mason (real-life Mrs. Simon...soon to be ex-Mrs. Simon) who attempts to love George despite his moods and general melancholy. Mason is very appealing here and might've saved the day were it not for Caan's indifference (not to mention a sub-plot concerning painfully-thin, blonde Valerie Harper which brings the proceedings to a screeching halt). I liked Mason's outburst at the end ("I am wonderful! I am NUTS about me!"), but I saw no happy ending for these two people...and time proved me right. ** from ****

Autobiographical comedy/drama by Neil Simon. In it a recent widower George Schneider (James Caan) meets and falls in love with a recent divorcee Jennie MacLaine (Marsha Mason). He marries her quickly, but realizes he hasn't gotten completely over his first wife. Is her love for him enough to see them through?

This was based on the real troubles Simon had when he married Mason in the early 1970s. He got over them (not completely though--they divorced in 1981) and wrote "Chapter Two" for the stage. I never saw it on the stage but I remember seeing this movie up the theatre back in 1980. I loved it (with reservations) back then and I still love it (with reservations) now.

The dialogue is virtual non-stop one-liners--real people don't talk like that but it is fun and entertaining to listen to. The dramatic sequences work well especially with Mason giving her all to what must have been a very difficult role for her to play. She's just tremendous (and drop-dead gorgeous) and was understandably nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for this role (she lost to Sally Field for "Norma Rae"). The film looks beautiful, moves fairly quickly and there's nice strong support from Joseph Bologna and (especially) Valerie Harper...but there's one big problem. James Caan. He's a wonderful DRAMATIC actor...NOT comedic. He seems very uncomfortable playing a mild-mannered grieving man, and the poor guy has no comedic timing and doesn't know how to tell a joke--most of his lines fall flat.

With a better leading man I might have given it a 10. As it is this is a strong 9. Worth catching...especially for Mason.

Let's get this out of the way first. Marsha Mason is the type of actress that puts a great deal of herself into every part she plays. What Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow were to the writing skills of Woody Allen, Mason was to Neil Simon. An actress who possessed an instinct for the writers mind and interpreted his material better than anyone. In CHAPTER TWO, Mason is at her best when delivering clever Neil Simon one liners. And although she gives it her all, she cannot on her own be expected to put across some of the stickiest dialogue ever written by Neil Simon. Particularly the self righteous overly emotional speech at the end. Not even Meryl Streep could pull that one off !! Simon had written a similar speech for Mason in THE GOODBYE GIRL. About how the character likes herself now and how far she had come in her life and how grown up and wonderful she feels. Mason should have put her foot down with this monologue in CHAPTER TWO. There is no way short of a miracle that any actor can pull gooey dialogue off like that without setting nervousness up in the viewer. This is not to say that Neil Simon has failed with this piece. Some of his words hit a nice autobiographic mark and I like the confessional speech that George (James Caan) gives about all the reasons why he resents marriage the second time around. It's too bad Caan never becomes the part. He's so wooden and uncomfortable in this. Not as the character, but as an actor who can't find his way through the part. Caan looks to Mason knowing she's carrying the weight of the picture and he's hoping her performance will carry him too. The chemistry between them doesn't jell the way it did in Cinderella LIBERTY. Probably due to some of the icky dialogue displayed here. Fortunately there's top notch supporting work by Valerie Harper and Joseph Bologna. Both are at the top of their game here. Simon seems to have written the best scenes for them. While I can forgive Robert Moore's soapy direction, I cannot for my life excuse the awful music score. Indicative of most music in movies between the decade of 1976 through 1986. Inappropriate and sappy in the worst sense.

Why would anyone want to be in love after watching this picture and hearing it's sticky music? The feeling of this movie is like one of those old butter commercials with the two lovers running in slow motion towards each other. I must admit to feeling lonely before watching CHAPTER TWO. After it was over I was extremely happy that I was not in a relationship and quite content to be single for a while. Thanks Neil !!

While Neil Simon is known for his comedies, such as "The Odd Couple", "Chapter Two" is a romance with little, if any, comedy. This is NOT a complaint...it's more letting you know what you're in for when you watch it. Additionally, like so many of his plays and films, it's based on events in his own life. For instance, "Barefoot in the Park" was based on his first marriage and "Chapter Two" is based on his divorce from his second marriage. Now here's the real odd part of this...the film stars Marsha Mason...the woman who was Simon's second wife! Talk about art imitating life!

When the story begins, George (James Caan) has just lost his wife. Her death, not surprisingly, weighs on him heavily. At about the same time, Jennie (Marsha Mason), has just divorced her husband. Soon, their friends and family are pushing them to begin dating once again. Eventually, George gets tired of his brother prodding him, so he calls one of these 'prospects' and soon he and Jennie are in love...VERY soon. In fact, after knowing each other only a short time, they marry! Plus, after marrying, it's obvious George is STILL pining for his dead wife. Is there any hope for this rebound marriage?

This film is more interesting than enjoyable to watch. As for my wife, she actually started yelling at the TV...telling George to STOP whining and commit to his marriage! I didn't feel quite as strongly, but it did muddle the romantic portion of the film quite a bit...and it certainly was NOT comedic in any way. Additionally, it was REALLY hard to care about any of the characters. Overall, well made and modestly interesting...but also unpleasant as well as a very unusual role for Caan.

Caan's character is not likable and the situation is not quite believable. The set up for the last 30 mins of the movie is too contrived. At the bottom of the Neil Simon body of work, which is usually very good. Unless you are a 70s film fan or Caan completist, you can skip this one.

Sappy adaptation of the Simon autobiographical play with Caan horribly miscast in the Simon character (played by Judd Hirsch on the stage). He lacks the timing and precision for comedy. Mason is splendid in an Oscar nominated role as Caan's new love interest who tries to give Caan a sense of hope and deep love. Bologna and Harper add flavor to their key supporting roles.

Ok, first the story line - banal emerging romance between mature upper middle class, white, sophisticated-urban, divorcee/widower plot - neither engaging or particularly interesting - it starts up, comes to fruition, there are bumps, riding into the sunset

Next, production values - aren't any notable achievements in this regard - looks like a "made for TV" kind of thing - lots of scenes in New York restaurants, shopping at deli's and street markets, playing baseball and football in the Park - the usual, New York upper West Side lifestyle depictions.

Characters - again banal - so tired of Valerie Harper as "gal pal" and Joseph Bologna as wacky "brother" sidekick. The two main characters are framed as pretty much what you would expect given the story line

Music - unrelenting wave of waving and receding orchestral swells punctuated by piquant piano touches to signal how cute it all is in the "dating" phase replaced later by salacious bass saxophone riffs to cue they're "getting it on" - overall, very "elevator", very not-good bad

Performances - Mason and Caan are very good actors - this thing is very "chatty" - since that's really all it's got - and Mason and Caan deliver their lines - poor as they are - with excellent timing as between them and skillfully natural delivery of each line's potential. And there's a nice little "grown up" romance "chemistry" between them. So there's that.

Bottom line - unless you really just need something to let run before your eyes of a otherwise boring eveving, skip this one as a waste of time. :-)

In short, a classic example of an effort where the dialogue runs the film, not special effects, sex, or some other 'popular' innovation. The repartee is bright, witty, and hilarious. Reminds me of the Walter Matthau-Glenda Jackson films.

The main characters' initial phone exchanges are phenomenal and hilarious. Later, the two supporting characters (played by Joe Bologna and Valerie Harper) have a meaningful exchange after being interrupted during a daytime tryst. Great dialogue. Well worth the two hour running time!! Enjoy.

I cannot believe the review I just read about this movie. It makes me want to be in a relationship. I think Neil Simon's writing for this movie is full of great lines and the speech Marsha Mason gives is so wonderful and she really pulls it off. I have played that part over and over and told several people about it who haven't seen the movie. And I thought the chemistry between Caan and Mason was pretty good and they were believable as a couple. I also thought the supporting actors played good roles--the brother (Bologne) and the friend (Harper). It had some good scenery too. The music score wasn't so good. The move is a little slow--a romance--a chic flic, I guess. I loved the ending.

What a night with this underrated film. Yes I really liked James Caan, who again, plays James Caan, with fine support, where I always love watching Bologna. Here, he's an interferring brother, who's set his widowed and struggling writer of a brother, on a series of misfire dates, but Mason is a whole new kettle of fish, that special find. I've always loved watching this fantastic actress, and she does so much with every role, and again, she makes an impact, every reaction, whatever, is totally believable, even in her actress character, who finds herself, in somewhat of a crisis, as saying "I do" too soon, after Caan's impulse of a proposal, where when vacationing, he begins having flashbacks of his former wife, as bringing her to the same paradise, even ending up in the same suite. And here the conflict and heavy drama starts, which made the sudden cold Caan character, kind of enthralling, as to his impasse. Great angle of story. I always find Caan, a bit dry as an actor, where Mason, Bologna, and of course Harper (Rhoda) bring more excitement and gusto to their roles. As if forgetting, then not being surprised at all, to see Harper and Bologna in this, being Neil Simon, years before Rio, for me, this was one of the film's perks. But what I really loved was the pre meet, the back and forth short phone talks, which was good and ingenius writing. Yes, this film has a lot to offer, with such a fitting ending, which can't be topped. Turn the chapter, off the bad reviews with this one, and like this marriage, give it a chance.