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IMDbPro

Manhattan solo

Original title: The Lonely Guy
  • 1984
  • R
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
8K
YOUR RATING
Steve Martin in Manhattan solo (1984)
Home Video Trailer from Universal Pictures
Play trailer2:07
1 Video
34 Photos
ComedyRomance

A writer for a greeting card company discovers the struggles and tribulations of living alone after breaking up with his unfaithful girlfriend.A writer for a greeting card company discovers the struggles and tribulations of living alone after breaking up with his unfaithful girlfriend.A writer for a greeting card company discovers the struggles and tribulations of living alone after breaking up with his unfaithful girlfriend.

  • Director
    • Arthur Hiller
  • Writers
    • Ed. Weinberger
    • Stan Daniels
    • Neil Simon
  • Stars
    • Steve Martin
    • Charles Grodin
    • Judith Ivey
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.2/10
    8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Arthur Hiller
    • Writers
      • Ed. Weinberger
      • Stan Daniels
      • Neil Simon
    • Stars
      • Steve Martin
      • Charles Grodin
      • Judith Ivey
    • 53User reviews
    • 36Critic reviews
    • 45Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    The Lonely Guy
    Trailer 2:07
    The Lonely Guy

    Photos34

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    Top cast80

    Edit
    Steve Martin
    Steve Martin
    • Larry
    Charles Grodin
    Charles Grodin
    • Warren
    Judith Ivey
    Judith Ivey
    • Iris
    Steve Lawrence
    Steve Lawrence
    • Jack
    Robyn Douglass
    Robyn Douglass
    • Danielle
    Merv Griffin
    Merv Griffin
    • Merv Griffin
    Joyce Brothers
    Joyce Brothers
    • Joyce Brothers
    • (as Dr. Joyce Brothers)
    Candi Brough
    • Schneider Twin
    Randi Brough
    • Schneider Twin
    Julie Payne
    • Rental Agent
    Madison Arnold
    Madison Arnold
    • Lonely Cop
    Roger Robinson
    Roger Robinson
    • Greeting Card Supervisor
    Dan Hannafin
    • Park Guard
    • (as Daniel P. Hannafin)
    Joan Sweeny
    Joan Sweeny
    • Girl in Blood Bank
    Nicholas Mele
    Nicholas Mele
    • Maitre D'
    Leon Jones
    • Traffic Cop
    Richard Delmonte
    • Raul
    Leslie Wing
    Leslie Wing
    • Girl in Bar
    • Director
      • Arthur Hiller
    • Writers
      • Ed. Weinberger
      • Stan Daniels
      • Neil Simon
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews53

    6.28K
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    Featured reviews

    7TVholic

    Another mixed review, and video disappointment

    The Lonely Guy is often quite funny but unfortunately sometimes dreadfully dull. Like Jim Abrahams and later Mel Brooks movies, this is classic Neil Simon where he throws rapid-fire jokes at you. Some hit and some miss, but you don't have to wait long for the next one. The scene where he dines alone in a fancy restaurant was one of the funniest. Somebody else seemed to think so, too, as it was copied almost verbatim for an Australian TV commercial two years later. Imitation must be the sincerest form of flattery.

    As a New Yorker, I liked seeing the city in this movie. It's a somewhat dirtier but more variegated New York than in movies like "Ghost" or "When Harry Met Sally," which spent too much time in tony neighborhoods like Tribeca, the Village and Midtown.

    Unfortunately, the definitive home video version does not exist and probably never will. The laserdisc is marred by a bad transfer and excessive, very objectionable video and audio noise. This may be the dreaded laser rot in action or just bad production. The DVD is beautiful, with a crisp transfer and no noticeable noise. But its 1.85:1 widescreen presentation is in the form of matting/masking the 1.33:1 Academy Frame, so instead of showing more picture, it actually shows less than the cassette and the laserdisc. The matting makes the "widescreen" frame feel distractingly cramped, with characters' heads continually butting up against the top. One joke in particular suffers badly: When Larry is laying on a bed talking to a woman, he's bare-chested in his fantasy to imply they're in bed together. But the widescreen version shows only his head, so the joke is weakened. Too bad a full-frame DVD will probably never be made as this is one of the few times when a full-frame presentation would have been preferable.
    yisraelh

    Two Movies

    Other people here have commented on the unevenness of this movie. What an understatement. I found the first half of the movie funny, poignant, delightful. Then, all of a sudden, the movie becomes an unfunny, painful bore. It's amazing. The contrast between the two halves is so stark, it's hard to believe it's the same movie. I don't ever recall such a split between two halves of a movie. Ever.

    And in the second half, there is a scene in bed involving the 'o' word, that is very painfully unfunny and completely inane.

    But what do I know.

    Two scenes that really stick out in my mind:

    1. When the girl says to Steve: "Nice guys don't stay lonely for long" -- so sweet!

    2. When Steve realizes he missed out on a golden opportunity to "get lucky" with a pretty woman. That was wickedly funny!
    6ASuiGeneris

    Even Steve Martin couldn't save the last 45 minutes.

    The Lonely Guy (1984) Director: Arthur Hiller Watched: 12/26/19 Rating: 3/5

    "I don't like to take naps. I don't like to wake up more than once a day. 'Cause when I first wake up I get that shock of who I am and everything. I... I really don't like to do that more than once a day."

    A favorite quote, which shows how this film managed to be funny although it did at times go maybe too far in minimizing or making light of suicide (other examples include the nonchalant freak show of falling bodies on the Manhattan Bridge, suicides reported casually on the radio after the weather announcements). But this is a black comedy after all and Steve Martin makes up for this with his hilarious shenanigans. Favorite shticks included: spotlight activated for a single diner; psychiatrist via apartment call box; automated chess machine friend; ferns as friends; fake sweat for possible running meet-cute; party cutouts from "The Lonely Guy Store"; renting a guy to talk to your girlfriend or wife so she won't wait for you alone in a bar; donating blood in order to lay in bed with a woman; and man on foot "pulled over" by a police officer who then"escorts" him on foot, all along regular traffic on the move!

    Steve Martin is certainly in his element and is slowed down only by the subpar writing. Which makes sense as to why he usually writes and directs the films he stars in. I have no doubt that "The Lonely Guy" would have been much better received if this were the case. The first 45 minutes of this film were outstanding- Hubbard is a newly minted Lonely Guy, does his best to cope and find a new girl, and his antics keep us engaged and laughing. But the story quickly runs out of steam after he gets inexplicably hooked on Iris and the writing loses its wittiness.

    Cameos by Merv Griffin and Doctor Joyce Brothers were a nice touch but not quite enough to save the latter half of the film.

    #cameo #comedy #dog #loneliness #NewYork #meta #narration #onaboat #pagetoscreen #publishingindustry #romanticcomedy #rooftopscene #subway #suicide #wedding
    7view_and_review

    Everybody Needs Somebody

    Larry (Steve Martin) comes home from his greeting card writing job to find his GF in bed with another man like only Steve Martin can. Once she spells it out for him that she no longer wants him he instantly joins the ranks of the lonely guys. How will he ever survive as a lonely guy? Warren (Charles Grodin), the monotone impassionate lonely guy veteran steps in to help Larry in this new stage of his life.

    But Larry can't stay lonely forever can he? It's so sad, so depressing, so... so... so... lonely.

    This movie isn't a laugh-a-minute but it always stays on the plus side of humor. It doesn't fall into somberness or seriousness and it doesn't go haywire either for cheap laughs. It's an enjoyable comedy about dealing with heartache, love, and the fear of the latter causing the former.
    stryker-5

    Mildly Amusing Steve Martin Vehicle

    The reasonable sprinkling of chuckles in this light comedy about loneliness in New York is ably augmented by Charles Grodin, displaying a hitherto undisclosed talent for geekery. As with all Steve Martin efforts, this one veers towards sentimentality and sports an unearned happy ending. And that's about it.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Steve Martin claims that he and Charles Grodin improvised 30% of their dialogue.
    • Goofs
      The mechanical chess game moves its rook and says, "Queen Rook to Queen Seven," taking Warren's queen, then says "Checkmate." The space it moves the rook to is King 7, not Queen 7. It is also not checkmate because there is no piece guarding the rook. Warren could have taken the rook with his king.
    • Quotes

      Warren Evans: I don't like to take naps. I don't like to wake up more than once a day. 'Cause when I first wake up I get that shock of who I am and everything. I... I really don't like to do that more than once a day.

      Larry Hubbard: Ya.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Special Show: At the Cassette Store, Part 3 (1986)
    • Soundtracks
      Love Comes Without Warning
      Performed by America

      Music by Jerry Goldsmith

      Lyrics by John Bettis

      Produced by Matt McCauley

      Courtesy of Capitol Records

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    FAQ

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 27, 1984 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Lonely Guy
    • Filming locations
      • New York City, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Universal Pictures
      • Aspen Film Society
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $5,718,573
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $2,072,130
      • Jan 29, 1984
    • Gross worldwide
      • $5,718,573
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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