Barney Cashman, a middle-aged fish restaurant owner, is starting to contemplate the idea of dying for the first time - faithfully devoted to his wife of several years, he decides to have an affair. Something beautiful, something decent... an interlude of romance and beauty to reassure him that his by the numbers existence was in fact, worthwhile.
Well, somebody should have told him what Ellen Burstyn said to Alan Alda towards the end of 'Same Time, Next Year'... 'There Is No Such Thing, My Love.'
Instead, he arranges encounters with three different women in his mother's apartment - Sally Kellerman, a cold, callous and unemotional woman whose notions of realism clash violently with Barney's eagerness to be gentle; Paula Prentiss, a drug addict actress whose only feature film was intitled 'I Married An Ape' ( The Same Story As 'Wuthering Heights', But With Some Gorillas And Some Surf Riders... ) and Renée Taylor, a seemingly fiery woman who, in fact, suffers from a deep state of melancholia.
Like any other Neil Simon gem, this is an in-depth commentary on one main character's psyche intertwined with hilarious bits and one-liners. Being no exception, 'The Last Of The Red Hot Lovers' is about one man's quest to free himself from the drearyness of every day life. The unsuccesful attempt he makes to free himself from Barney Cashman and become 'the last of the red hot lovers'. The deconstruction of Barney Cashman comes through those three woman, whose extreme life styles make him realize how there is no such thing as a pure and decent extramarital affair.
Sounds depressing? Well, it isn't. Simon blends character study with comedy in rare fashion, and makes this as delightful as any comedy can be, and as profound as any drama can be.
