Comme au bon vieux temps

I wouldn't say Neil Simon's comic wit is at full steam in this light-hearted comedy, but there are certainly a plethora of laughs to go around.

Chevy Chase's Nick Gardenia is offishly matter-of-fact funny as only he can be, a writer and journalist (have you noticed Simon's protagonists are nearly always writers?) of ill-repute who somehow once ended up in a Mexican jail for 2 years and is now on the path to recovery when a couple of bank robbers kidnap and use him for a heist. His mug is prominently featured in the robbery photos and then the fun ensues when he goes to his ex-wife's (Hawn's) house to engender her help after being let go by the robbers and being fully on the run from the law.

The movie is mostly fast-paced slapstick farce, a host of retreaded clichés (the dogs, for example), and quick jokes. Charles Grodin is actually quite funny and charming as her straight-arrow District Attorney (soon to be Attorney General) husband, Ira. Given "Midnight Run," I think Grodin should be considered a mint for American glib comedy a la Albert Brooks.

It's pointless to go much deeper into the story as the plot merely drives slapstick scenes one into the next. The story is essentially the sum of its parts.

Goldie Hawn is in full-tilt cutie mode (she really was a doll) but carries the movie very well as a hopeless do-gooder who wants to help everybody, including her ex-husband and every stray dog in 10 surrounding counties. Chevy Chase often gives the impression of making comedy look effortless (think Fletch), but he is REALLY giving into pratfalling a la his SNL days in this one. The supporting cast with Guillaume and others is excellent.

This is completely worth a watch if you catch it as in many ways this movie is superior to the Hawn and Chase hit "Foul Play."

Every line is a hilarious pun or joke. Seems to be a remake of Talk of the Town (black and white movie, 1942), which was more of a drama than a comedy. Same plot of "love triangle", based on help from an old flame, up against an adversary running for public office, who is trying to avoid bad press. The hero, wrongly accused, even uses the same hiding places throughout the flick. Yvonne Wilder steals the show as the house-keeper Aurora, who runs a tight ship amid all the confusion of the pack of dogs always running around; She speaks her mind yelling things "under her breath". It isn't any Shakespeare, but its all around fun for all ages, and has a clever screenplay. Charles Grodin is the dour, serious husband who is trying to hold his position as Husband. The chemistry between Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn is amazing, and you can sense the conflict that the married Goldie Hawn feels as she tries to avoid falling back in love with Chevy Chase. Some great one-liners from Chevy Chase - he seems to be answering his own question half the time, and the jokes are for the benefit of the audience and Chevy himself.

This movie is great. Very funny and the whole cast is very enjoyable but the GREAT Goldie Hawn stands out.

It is, count'em, 25 years of my loyal fanship to Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase, through thick and thin. "Foul Play" is their first go-round, and "Seems Like Old Times" is equally as timeless and great.

For the over 1000 times I have watched "Foul Play" and "Seems Like Old Times," I feel warm, giddy, and romantic every time as I look at this beautiful and funny pair. However, in "Seems Like Old Times," they are divorced. Hawn is the pretty but confused lawyer divorced from klutzy, easygoing novelist Chase turned bank-robbing fugitive and currently married to prim D.A. Charles Grodin. In fact, Hawn is so liberal she aids illegal aliens, a kleptomaniacal black chauffer, and faces the ultimate dilemma: Should she take in her ex-husband and come back and have fun with him or should she stay with her humorless current husband. Both men love her. Chase scoots under every bed due to intimidation by Grodin. Grodin does everything to get rid of Chase. Chase still has loving feelings for Hawn. This causes Hawn titilation, even insomnia with Chase hiding out in their house. When the two men finally meet, sparks fly. Not only do they get into a fistfight during dinner, but a court case looms over. Naturally, Grodin prosecutes Chase and Hawn defends him. Hawn wins. Chase kisses Hawn in front of an exasperated Grodin. Then Hawn and Grodin go away. They have car trouble, and Hawn unexpectedly gets to Chase's cabin in a rainstorm. She smiles at him. But that is the ending. Still, despite some flaws, "Seems Like Old Times" is a timeless small movie for those who want to laugh and fall in love. But why did it flop? Was it hard to accept Hawn and Chase as divorced? But the chemistry is still there, whether they get married or split up. Sure there are several romantic screen teams, such as Hanks and Ryan, Powell and Loy, and Hepburn and Tracy, but it is Hawn and Chase who do it for me and, of course, they are not married to each other in real life, but are married in spirit on screen.

I love Neil Simon comedies. The situations are so utterly outrageous, that they're hilarious. Seems Like Old Times is the story of a woman (Hawn) who's ex-husband, Nick,(Chase) is wrongly accused of robbing a bank. Nick keeps popping up at his ex-wife's house to get her to help him out, and in the meantime, she's trying to keep him hidden from her husband (Grodin), who's got an interest in aprehending Nick because he's up for the role of Attorney General.

The story is very similar to Max Dugan Returns, another Simon comedy in which Marsha Mason plays a woman who's estranged father (Jason Robards) shows up at her doorstep one night with a suitcase full of "stolen" money. In need of a place to lay low from the cops, the woman has to hide him from her boyfriend, a detective played by Donald Sutherland. By the way, if you liked Seems Like Old Times, you'd probably enjoy Max Dugan Returns, although it is not filled with as much 'stupid comedy' as the former.

Seems Like Old Times is classic Chevy Chase wit, Goldie Hawn charm, Charles Grodin panic, and comfortable Neil Simon comedy. Plus, it's got a load of other familliar faces like Robert Gillaum as Grodin's best friend and co-worker. T.K. Carter is hilarious as Goldie Hawn's chauffeur/maitre di/whatever else the woman hires him for (you'll understand if and when you have seen the movie). I think my favorite character of all, however, is the sassy housemaid, Aurora. It's a nice little film about outrageously odd occurences.