The_Core

One of the best films I've seen in a long, long time. I recently came across "The Goodbye Girl" on cable (On-Demand) and noticed all the awards it won. I was around in 1977 but was a younger teenager... still, you'd think I would have seen this film by now. The acting was incredible, enormous energy invested by all concerned... script was awesome.

I'm not usually that big on love stories, but this one was so entertaining and simultaneously touching that I found myself looking up after two hours, feeling like five minutes had just gone by. An easy classic, 10/10.

Every different genre of film requires something different to make it special. Science fiction needs intelligent storytelling, war films require moving/agonizing drama. And of course, love stories need good chemistry between whoever's supposed to be in love. I thought this one had it in spades, with all concerned. It did get slightly melodramatic at the end, but nothing that anyone who enjoyed "Somewhere in Time" (another movie that many love story fans are fond of) couldn't handle... in fact, the former was quite a bit more sappy or melodramatic, and in my opinion this one leans toward realism more than the average. I just saw it "cold" on a cable channel without knowing anything about it, and was basically riveted to the screen the entire time. Recommended for fans of the genre, and others should at least dip their toe in and see how it strikes 'em. 8/10.

That is, if you like somewhat artsy sci-fi films. I felt the acting was pretty much excellent from all involved, and the direction was slightly uneven but pretty much great. Cinematography was terrific, some real eye candy there. The main problem, IMO, involved the script. I've said quite a few times in my IMDb reviews that Hollywood has run out of ideas, and I believe this completely. Seeing the deleted scene in the extras with the protagonist in an ice bath really sealed this in my mind... straight out of Jacob's Ladder. Basically, this film is an amalgam of several others... One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Jacob's Ladder, 12 Monkeys, etc. Many other reviewers have noticed this as well.

Overall, a very watchable film that will never become a classic like Jacob's Ladder or 12 Monkeys, but is certainly worth a Saturday rental or something. You'll likely forget it soon afterward. The ending rather let me down (too pat, little emotion, lacking in cleverness and originality) but after seeing some of the deleted endings I'm very glad they went with the one they did. Most were a direct imitation of Jacob's Ladder, I mean literal ripoff. I feel the director did made some good choices in not directly ripping off the films I've mentioned, while more subtly and appropriately borrowingfrom them, just as a screenplay with very few original ideas could be expected to do. 7/10 (maybe 6/10, can't decide).