Pieds nus dans le parc

Despite the electricity of "The Odd Couple" the emotional force of "Lost in Yonkers" and the Depression-era angst of "Brighton Beach Memoirs," this remains the best movie made of a Neil Simon play.

Like "The Odd Couple" it owes most of its enduring success to the chemistry between Jane Fonda and Robert Redford (reprising his role in the Broadway show) as the hapless newlyweds trying desperately to make it work. This is the movie that is responsible for most of the "mismatched" romantic comedies we've ever seen, including "Along Came Polly" and TV's "Dharma and Greg." It proves that flowery romantic prose isn't what makes a great love story, bold heroes and damsels in distress don't make a good love story. No, what makes a good love story are two people who, from start to finish, makes the audience go "Oh, God in heaven, please let them work it out!"

The brilliant dialogue of Mr. Simon, the charm of Mr. Boyer and the majestic backdrop of New York City make this a must-see for anyone who loves 1, comedy, 2, love stories or 3, Robert Redford because after this, he never really made another movie that was at all comparable.

Oh, I just remembered "Laughter on the 23rd Floor." I guess it's a tie for best Neil Simon movie.

This film version of one of Neil Simon's early Broadway hits coasts on the likability of its cast and a lot of classic Simon banter. The gossamer-thin plot, about newlyweds who find out they don't know each other as well as they thought, is only a framework to hang a bunch of running gags about drafty New York flats, endless stairs, oddball neighbors and the like.

Laughs are plentiful, although as in the rest of Simon's work, one is acutely aware that nobody is so quick with the one-liners in real life.

Boy, were they young back then! Robert Redford underplays charmingly as Paul Bratter, up-and-coming lawyer and all-round stick-in-the-mud; Jane Fonda is his new bride Corie, sexy, fun-loving and relentlessly cute to the borderline of annoyance. When you find her schtick getting a little hard to take, concentrate instead on veteran character actors Charles Boyer and Mildred Natwick, who lend spirit and class to their comedic roles.

Perhaps the direction by Gene Saks is a tad stagebound (he directed the Broadway version), and the cinematography a bit muddy, but Neal Hefti contributes another sprightly score that does a lot to compensate. Overall, an undemanding, undeniable pleasure.

I must have seen it five times. What a delightful movie, so gentle, so understanding of human nature, so devoid of vulgarity or hard edges. Neil Simon is a jewel. He has single-handedly rescued American cinema from total mediocrity since the mid-sixties. Yes, he has had some weak scripts, but when he's bad, he is never terribly bad. I am glad that as good a writer is so successful. The cream does rise to the top, - once in a million years. Seeing this movie should be mandatory for any couple considering divorce. It shows how silly fights are. Too bad it didn't save Simon's own marriage.

Boyer is priceless as an eccentric bohemian. Everyone is inspired by the script and delivers his or his best performance. Simon makes happiness seem possible, because he knows where it's hiding.

I'm no great fan of Neil Simon, but this neat adaption of his popular stage success BAREFOOT IN THE PARK brings a smile to my face--and it probably will yours too. The story is quite simple: newlyweds Robert Redford and Jane Fonda have moved into a New York apartment building peopled by eccentrics... and their own tiny apartment has hole in the skylight, no heat, and you have walk up five flights to get there. Redford, a rather stodgy conservative, takes a dim view of the whole thing; Fonda, who has an excessively happy-go-lucky disposition, thinks everything is great fun. Needless to say, they're soon going at it hammer and tongs.

This is a very contrived, sitcom-ish plot, but the cast carries it well. Although Redford has remained a great star for forty years, his films have been very hit or miss; here he is well cast, and he plays expertly. During this period of her career, Fonda was very much the perky girl-next-door with a slight sex-kitten spin, and she too is fun to watch. But the real winners here are Charles Boyer, as their eccentric neighbor, and particularly Mildred Natwick, as Fonda's mother. Natwick excelled at playing disconcerted matrons, and this is perhaps the best of the many fine, memorable variations of the type she offered during her long and very enjoyable career. BAREFOOT IN THE PARK won't go down in history as a great film, nor will change your point of view. But it is tremendously good fun, a film I've enjoyed every time time I've seen it--and that is a good many. Recommended; you'll enjoy it.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

This is just one of those movies that can make you feel better if you've had a bad day. Honestly, it's charming, funny, light and I don't know, just the right amount of comedy and romance. Redford and Fonda are perfect together. This is a truly great comedic performance by Jane Fonda, she's amazing in this movie. Then again I am a stickler for her lighter, funnier work from the 60s. But this one stands out as being genuinely funny and well made. I love all the funny little details, like the tuna fish cans, Robert Redford's comment about "a big cat with a can opener", Jane Fonda's mother, Jane Fonda doing a "Cambodian fertility dance", etc. It is all just too classic for words. Buy this movie if you love 60s cinema and/or its two stars, it's too good.