The Goodbye Girl

My favourite film of all time. Despite its academy awards at the time it remains largely unknown now which is sad. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it makes you feel good. What more can you expect from a movie?

Poor Marsha Marson. All of her relationships end in failure. The guy simply walks out. She has a precocious daughter, devilishly played by Quinn Cummings. The latter received a supporting actress nomination and faded from the movie scene real fast. Where are you Quinn darling?

Forced to share an apartment with a stranger, Mason may finally be on the right track. Richard Dreyfuss is that man and in a surprise Oscar winning performance (Richard Burton was also up for Equus that year), he is perfect in the role as the charmer.

By movie's end Dreyfuss has to go off to somewhere but unlike the other men in her life, will return. How do we know he is coming back? Just see this delightful film and find out.

This is a comedy they will be watching with endearment years and years from now. Holds up with beautifully paced performances from the three leads and really captures a time when movies could be fun just for fun's sake (along with Tootsie). The kind of movie you could watch, hit rewind, and watch immediately again.

Paula McFadden (Marsha Mason) and her 10 year old daughter Lucy (Quinn Cummings) are abandoned in NYC by her married boyfriend. He also sublets the apartment they share to a young actor, Eliot Garfield (Richard Dreyfuss). They agree to live together even though they hate each other. Naturally, they fall in love.

Totally predictable but I really enjoyed it! I loved in back in 1977 and I still love it now! Neil Simon's script is basically just a series of one liners--but they ARE funny and Dreyfuss, Mason and Cummings deliver them perfectly. They come fast and furious and the movie moves very quickly--it doesn't seem like it's 110 minutes long. Dreyfuss deservedly won the Best Actor Award for this film--he's 'on' non-stop and is full of energy and fun.

Mason was nominated for Best Actress and she's almost as good as Dreyfuss (she was a little too whiny for me). Cummings isn't that good--but she WAS only 10 when she did this. It's just that her character is one of those screen kids that talks and acts like an adult--I didn't think having her swear occasionally was cute or funny. Nonetheless she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. The movie was also up for Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture. Also there's a GREAT title song written and performed by David Gates over the closing credits (it was also a big hit song back in '77). Also Nicol Williamson pops up (unbilled) in a short but VERY funny cameo.

The only debit--the romance scenes were corny (but they do work) and some of the dramatic scenes were TERRIBLY written (Simon was always better at doing comedy). And he has two thunderstorms pop up out of NOWHERE in this movie during a big romantic and dramatic scene. That was pushing it a little too much! Still the acting carries those scenes through and it's a minor complaint.

A sweet, very funny, enjoyable film. Just don't think about it TOO much. I give it a 9.

One of the best romantic comedies ever. Dreyfuss & Mason generate as much chemistry as I have ever seen on the screen from a couple that was never a couple. Quinn Cummings delivers one of the greatest child actress performance in cinema history -- always genuine and winning. The dialogue is witty and brittle. The direction never strikes a false note. And all the dualities of New York are well exploited. I simply LOVE this movie.