Forget Paris

FORGET Paris is a sweet romantic comedy which Billy Crystal made after his best romantic comedy, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY. This time, though, it is Debra Winger rather than Meg Ryan who is opposite him. But Winger does nicely in the Ryan part and Crystal does nicely too.

Crystal is a basketball referee who is accompanying his father's dead body to Normandy for burial. The airline sends the body to Switzerland accidentally, and Winger is the airline official who smooths Crystal's ruffled feathers. She even attends the funeral, and soon the two of them are exploring the sites of Paris together. They get on well, but Crystal has to return to the U.S. But he returns and proposes marriage. After an initial delay, Winger accepts the proposal, and we watch the resulting marriage.

It is an intensely felt love affair, but it isn't smooth. She does not like losing her high paying job in Paris to return to the U.S., nor that he is going around the country most of the time as a referee at games. He tries to work at a different job, and finds her father (William Hickey) driving him batty with his senility (he keeps repeating the Toyota automobile slogan from the 1990s). And there are more serious problems about infertility, including a funny routine when Crystal is repeatedly delayed running to a fertility clinic.

The story of their love affair and marriage is related by Joe Mantegna, Richard Masur, Julie Kavner, and John Spencer, at a dinner party in an Italian restaurant. The personalities and marriage situations of the friends of our hero and heroine get exposed too during the dinner. All of the friends give good performances as does Hickey and Robert Constanza as the world's most philosophically charming waiter. Listen to him describing various drinks.

The film is a feel good movie, and does well as such.

This movie is interesting and unique, in the sense that it focuses on love AFTER marriage, and not before.

Billy Crystal plays a basketball referee who travels to Paris in order to bury his recently-deceased father. However alone the way the casket is lost and he's stuck in Paris, where he meets another single woman (Debra Winger) who's under similarly unfortunate circumstances.

They go out, have a fun time, and then resume their normal lives. Crystal goes back to basketball in the US but soon finds he can't concentrate and keeps thinking about his relationship.

Eventually they reunite and get married but it's an uphill struggle.

The movie kind of reminded me of "GoodFellas" (!) due to its structure and how it focused on the downfall of the marriage. Like Ray Liotta's marriage in "GoodFellas" it's not all peachy like most Hollywood films portray them as being.

My favorite sequence is when Crystal is transporting his semen to a hospital and gets stopped by a traffic cop. Some very funny moments like this, as well as good chemistry between the stars and an interesting narrative structure, make it a worthwhile - if not particularly memorable - romantic comedy, better than many others in its genre. At least it's entertaining and believable.

I have genuinely loved this movie! I've seen it many times, I rewatch it every time I need something sweet to soothe my soul...realistic, romantic, funny! Plus...let's NOT forget Paris...seeing the beautiful city really adds up to the movie charm! If you ever come across this one and aren't sure if it's worth watching, I hope my review will help you to just leave everything aside and press 'play'! Beautiful romantic comedy!

On date 5 November 1998, IMDb user "OffYear" from Chicago wrote:

>Billy Crystal: The poor, stupid man's Woody Allen.

>Crushingly bad. Crystal, having already ripped off 'Annie Hall' with the vastly overrated 'When Harry Met Sally' now rips off the lesser 'Broadway Danny Rose'.

And, on date 13 March 2002, IMDb user "Movie-Robot" from New York agreed:

>The guy here who called Crystal "The poor, stupid man's Woody Allen" has a point.

On the other hand, on date 2 March 2002, "The Movie Buff" from Nyc had written:

>This movie holds the record of earliest advanced screening before being released of all-time, 18 years. The film was shown at an advanced screening back in 77 when it was under the working title ANNIE HALL!!!

Does it mean that Woody Allen, when directing "Broadway Danny Rose", ripped off "Annie Hall"!?

Ok, I apologize to these users, whose comments I found anyway very interesting, and suggested me a point of view I had not taken. That's the point! I was not able to see any unforgivable pillage from Allen's movies.

I think Billy Crystal did not want to Explain The Mystery Of Love neither to portrait New Characters Of Modern Times. This is mostly Allen's trade.

Forget Paris is essentially a light comedy, and Billy Crystal is a brilliant guy. Debra Winger is amiable and graceful and many funny dialogues are as original as unforgettable (as the one when he asks her to marry him).

There is actually a scene which irritated me, the one where they lie by the fireplace, I found it kitch, it does not fit well with the rest. But the movie is a must-see for all lovers of the genre.

What about the soundtrack? Well, it just picks up some of the most beautiful songs by Cole Porter, the Gershwins and some other great american composer. If it is lawful, well, it is a beautiful soundtrack!

I wanted to like this. It does not shirk from showing the real difficulties marriage has - or the anti-climax marriage can prove after the romance of courtship.

I also applaud its realism - many matters don't prove right in the end in real life - nor in this movie - no matter how much they try. Reconciliations fade in light of fundamental issues that exist from the beginning of the marriage.

However, as comedy, the movie usually seemed lame - it had its moments but they were too few. And as drama, there weren't enough moments of real suspense. As a romance, it fails - it's too realistic and I never felt any magic in Debra Winger's character. She was fairly nice, fairly attractive, but rather humdrum in personality. We are taken down a lane familiar to married couples - with all the aggravations real life produces and an occasional chuckle.

The movie is the rather tedious alternative to "happily ever after" - and though the movie rings more truly than "happily ever after",it's not as satisfying. Very little would be needed to darken this movie into "An Unmarried Woman". I preferred Mr. Saturday Night for its dark look at the life of a Milton Berle sort of character - at least it was unfamiliar and interesting territory - this isn't. I do wish I could say otherwise and again think well of Crystal in one respect: he doesn't sugarcoat his tale.