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Rating: 4 out of 5
Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t know what to do but ultimately worked it out for each side? Have you ever had to be roommates with someone that you weren’t expecting and found out that they are strange, but you deal with it? There are loads of situations where people have to deal with situations and each other. I bring all of this up because I recently watched The Goodbye Girl, directed by Herbert Ross and written by Neil Simon. I had no idea what this film was about. Based on the title, I thought it was a woman saying goodbye to her daughter. If you look at the box cover, you see a happy family. I was never so wrong.
The Goodbye Girl is a funny film with a trio of characters having to get along. The film begins with dancer and divorcee Paula McFadden (Mason) and her ten-year-old daughter Lucy (Cummings). The pair live in a Manhattan apartment with her married boyfriend. After a shopping trip, Paula finds out that Tony has bounced to go for a film role in Italy. This seems to happen to Paula quite a bit. Little does Paula know that Tony has sublet the apartment to Elliot Garfield (Dreyfuss), a strange but nice aspiring actor from Chi-Town. Elliot shows up during a rainstorm in the middle of the night, expecting to move in, but Paula denies him. After some convincing, Paula lets Elliot in, but Paula has her own faults, as she is demanding, cynical, and strange in her own way.
Paula and Elliot struggle to get along. Paula decides to go back to dancing but finds out homegirl is out of shape and needs a lot of work. Elliot, on the other hand, had landed the title role of an off-off-Broadway production of Richard III. Elliot is stoked, but his happiness soon fades when the director wants him to play Richard III as an exaggerated homosexual stereotype. Elliot is against this and has major questions and issues as he knows this might be a career killer for him, but he agrees to do it. Elliot and Paula clash often, with Elliot doing strange things like meditating and playing his guitar late at night while naked. These two clash repeatedly until Lucy helps them, and they soon fall in love.
After watching this film, I felt as if the story was a standard romantic comedy. You have two characters that don’t get along in the first part of the movie but fall in love in the second half. I must admit that Elliot really does bring on the charm during their date. He remakes the rooftop with lights, music, and wine. I need to take some notes if I have a date and want to impress her.
What I like about this film is the interactions and chemistry between the characters. Paula and Elliot are a sight to see as they argue. When Paula gets robbed, she has the one person who looks like he can’t fight to chase after the criminals. The scene was funny to look at. Another scene is when Lucy and Elliot roll up to Paula’s part-time job as a salesperson, which makes her lose her lines. These are all sweet moments in the film that show the chemistry of the characters.
Speaking of the characters, the actors in the film all did a great job. First, as Elliot Garfield, Richard Dreyfuss was funny and very different in his own ways. Meditating and playing guitar naked was strange, but Dreyfuss pulled it off greatly. He should be someone who smokes weed. The way he played to Richard III was a different take, but he was entertaining to watch. I don’t know if this was an Oscar-winning performance, but hey, I’m not a voter.
I enjoyed Marsha Mason as Paula McFadden and Quinn Cummings as Lucy McFadden. Marsha Mason was fun to watch because she was the epitome of a mother who constantly falls in love only to get her heart broken. Marsha was funny as she was so cynical of Elliot while being extremely loving and supportive of Lucy. I want to say that Quinn played Lucy as a baller. She really didn’t care that Elliot moved in and gave him a chance. Quinn played Lucy as the smart one in the whole movie, who seemed to give all the advice to her mother.
The Goodbye Girl is a good little funny film with a good story and great acting. Dreyfuss, Mason, and Cummings are great in this film as each person is funny in their own way. When you’re with someone, you should tell them not to sublet your apartment to someone else. Give this film a chance while playing guitar naked.
