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I saw "Best Friends" in the theater (Bellerose, NY) and I've seen it several times since. I don't like it that much. "Best Friends" does the impossible. It makes two of the most likable stars ever, Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn, and makes them almost unlikable. Burt and Goldie have there moments, the movie does as well, but the weak script is just another '70s anti-marriage movie. Will marriage ruin their relationship? Blah, blah blah. By the time this movie came out, there had already been a bunch of movies like this. There are a handful of laughs in this movie but after an hour of so I just wanted "Best Friends" to end.

"Best Friends" is a nice film for a weekend afternoon. It is entertaining, has an easy-to-follow storyline, and shows some respect for the viewer. Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn are quite appealing in the leads, but so is the supporting cast, which includes Barnard Hughes, Jessica Tandy, Keenan Wynn, and Audra Lindley (best known as Mrs. Roper on "Three's Company").

Though a comedy, "Best Friends" has, alas, very few laugh-out-loud moments, and is almost too casual in pace for its own good. The near-classic wedding scene (with Richard Libertini) offers perhaps the most genuine laughs, although Reynolds, a very underrated comedic actor, adds some subtle bits of his own throughout the movie.

"Best Friends" is a competently-made and sometimes touching film that also lacks drive and usually fails to produce much more than an occasional smile. But it's worth a look, to be sure.

Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn play screenwriting partners, and longtime romantic partners, who decide to get married and then find that marriage is not the same as being "best friends." Written by Barry Levinson ("Diner" "The Natural" "Avalon") and Valerie Curtin (who co-wrote "...and justice for all" "Inside Moves" and "Unfaithfully Yours" with Levinson), based the story on their own lives as writing partners. The film was directed by Norman Jewison ("In the Heat of the Night" "Moonstruck" "Rollerball") and was shot by Jordan Cronenweth ("Blade Runner" "Stop Making Sense" "Peggy Sue Got Married"), along with music by Michel Legrand ("Summer of '42" "The Thomas Crown Affair"), so considering all of the talent behind the camera and in front of the camera, which also included Jessica Tandy, Keenan Wynn, Ron Silver, and Richard LIbertini, the film is somewhat of a disappointment. However, although the film is not as good as I would have hoped, the stars have a likable chemistry and have a fun Tracy/Hepburn type of relationship, where the male and female leads are presented as equals, which is rarely the case with romantic comedies. Watchable if you're fans of the two leads.

The undeniable charm of its stars, at the peak of their popularity, is the only thing that makes BEST FRIENDS slightly watchable. This paper-thin story centers on a pair of Hollywood screen writers named Richard Babson (Burt Reynolds) and Paula McCullen (Goldie Haw), who after years of living together, decide to marry, though they both have always felt marriage would destroy their relationship. There's nothing new or interesting here and the thrust of the film is when the pair make a trip to visit each other's parents. Jessica Tandy and Barnard Hughes are wonderful as Goldie's parents, Audra Lindley and Keenan Wynn also have their moments as Burt's parents, but the whole thing just plays like a hastily written sitcom. The film is driven purely on star power and has this whole "been there done that" air about it. I think Burt and Goldie must have needed the money.

Norman Jewison (In the Heat of the Night, Rollerball) directed this supposedly romantic comedy about a middle-aged writing couple acting like teenagers at the behest of their respective parents. Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin wrote the script, based on their own relationship, and while it's not too difficult to spot the authenticity and potential, the script limits itself and gets too hung up on its own conundrums. After a fun start, in which the chemistry between stars Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn is palpable and very much enjoyable, the film starts to drag when the couple go on a road trip to their in-laws. It's all obviously meant to feel claustrophobic, but the film isn't just suffocating its protagonists; it's also suffocating itself. There's a lack of perspective here, which the filmmakers try to make up for with babbling, Allenesque dialogue, making the film's various stages seem perpetual and unforgiving. Reynolds and Hawn not only wear each other out, they also wear this entire film out. And Jewison is never able to find the tools to lift Best Friends out from its own misery. It could have been a good movie.