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I love this movie so much

One of my all time favorites.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

It is starting to feel like another planet when you think about the time that has passed since Neil Simon was cranking out comedies like this one in the 1970's. What makes it feel longer is - Marsha Mason is 70 years old this year 2012 Richard Dreyfuss is 65 years old this year.Their daughter who was a newcomer in this movie is 40 years old this year.Dreyfuss won an Oscar for this one and deservedly so. His character is extremely energetic and in a time before it is fashionable has to play a gay King Richard.As for Mason, she is delicious and bitchy all in moments.Neil Simon is 85 this year and his last writing credit was in 2007. In the 1970's Simon was doing scripts like this, The Odd Couple and The Sun Shine Boys.While the Goodbye Girl is not quite as well done as the others, this is still a pretty solid script for it's era. What seems strange is that this one just was shown on The Essentials on TCM. I am not used to having a movie that came out when I grew up being honored in that Saturday night slot. Still, it deserved the recognition.We need films like this one to remind us people and movies are not perfect.

I can't help but channel another favorite film of mine, "Star Wars" as I compare the outrageous but more comported and more intelligent film of yesteryear to today's offerings. A film made for adults, about adults, acting like adults, with adult problems, and solving them like adults might, and did before the market reshift of the 80s and 90s to a pure teenage audience (or audience with teenage taste)."The Goodbye Girl" is the kind of film I like to see and watch. It's a more comported film about people behaving like mature adults, without succumbing to the urge to be a child with raging hormones. But the theatre of the 70s was a different animal than today's teenage market model.Neil Simon's play, translated to the screen, is full of wit and verve. It is funny without condescending to body functions, nor explicit sex for the sake of shock (which has lost its shock altogether). We're seeing the courting of a couple, both of whom are fighting to hold onto their dreams and stay in the world they know and love without succumbing to defeat.Challenges are made and met, mostly from the couple that fight, vie and come to a state of détente and acceptance. Both Dreyfus and Mason are high energy and outrageous without being stupid and insulting (again, unlike so many of today's contemporary films). Watching this film I'm reminded of the adults that used to pervade society on all levels. I can also feel, see, sense and smell the set of the small apartment in New York; the art direction and lighting design are that good. Throw in some very competent actors, and you got yourself one great photplay waiting to be shown. I used to hate and bemoan the 70s, but this film reminded me that those years weren't so bad. If I had a critique of the film, it's Simon's writing style. It's full of more wit than I think most people can readily absorb. He's almost too funny at times. It's the kind of thing that's both his trademark and his bane. Referencing a non-sexual double entente and political ongoings of the era were zestful. It was an age when information was more filtered, though prevalent, yet delivered at a wiser pace to allow for mental digestion. But Simon bucks the trend of the time by delivering wit fast and furious. It was, and still is, considered great art and genius. Though at times it can be silly.An actor and a former hoofer with a daughter? Can it work? Well, you probably know the answer to that one, but it's the journey that's the actual joy. An old fashioned film for an old fashioned time, when technology, though present, didn't pigeon hole personality types into discreet demographics. In short, this film is made for most everyone.Ah, and I haven't given one of these in a while, there are a couple of marginally racy scenes. After all, it is a PG film, and I would urge the parent or would be parent who's interested in watching this with their children, to pre-screen it first, and then decide.Again, overall an inviting film with some funny, witty and tender scenes. It's also marginally cliché in a Neil Simon kind of way, but it's what you expect, and you love the man for it.A decent watch.

'The Goodbye Girl' is A Wonderful Film, that is well-written, well-acted, well-directed & even well-executed. It's one of the most involving movies from the late 1970's, as it gets almost everything right.Directed by Herbert Ross, 'The Goodbye Girl' centers on an odd trio-a struggling actor, who has sublet a Manhattan apartment from a friend, the current occupant "his friend's ex-girlfriend, who has just been abandoned" and her precocious young daughter.Neil Simon's Screenplay is top-notch. The film begins well and only keeps climbing the ladder. Also, the diversity between it's characters are very well-defined. The only problem I had with this film, was it's running-time. The film is about 10-15 minutes longer than it should have been. I feel if trimmed, it's overall impact would have only enhanced. Herbert Ross's direction is under-stated. Cinematography is perfect. Editing is alright.Performance-Wise: Richard Dreyfuss is lovable in an Oscar-Winning Performance. Marsha Mason is excellent in an Oscar-Nominated Performance. She delivers in each & every sequence. Quinn Cummings is confidence personified, in an also Oscar-Nominated Performance. She stands on her own and matches up step to step, near senior performers like Dreyfuss & Mason.On the whole, A Romantic Comedy-Drama, that manages to keep you hooked on the screen almost throughout. Worth A Watch!

They can fight; we'll give them that. And for some couples that might be a bad thing but for these two we think it bodes well.This was a super-retro for us. We know there are plenty of older movies out there but we hadn't seen this one in a really long time and had forgotten how good it is.Paula McFadden has been living in NY with her actor boyfriend Tony and her young daughter Lucy. The three are planning to head to LA where Tony has a movie role lined up. But after finishing up some last minute shopping Paula returns home to discover that Tony has cleared out without her and headed to Italy instead. To make matters worse she also learns that he has sub-let their apartment to Elliot Garfield, another actor who arrives that night soaked to the skin and with all of his belongings.Despite her best attempts to keep him out, she has no choice but to let him in and the two agree to a cautious sharing of the apartment. Unsurprisingly this creates friction between them. Paula is already over-wrought, over-protective, and over-emotional, and she is clearly afraid to trust anyone. Elliot is funny and quirky, but comes with a bag full of annoying habits including late night meditating complete with full volume "OMs." We found his desire to irritate Paula quite understandable but his lack of consideration towards her sleeping daughter pretty uncharitable.While the close proximity gives these two ample opportunity to rub each other the wrong way it allows them to see the good qualities in each other as well. Paula can be sweet and sensitive, and she has an open honest relationship with her daughter. She is perhaps too willing to let her feeling show (nobody loves an open wound), but we appreciate her honesty. Elliot is funny, charming and generous - we love the rooftop dinner and the horse-and-buggy after school pickup. And he clearly loves Lucy.The two have great intercourse and not just between the sheets. They fight, they quarrel; they laugh, spar, debate and vent. They exchange and converse. In a word - they communicate, and well. Paula's neuroses may get in the way from time to time, but Elliot doesn't seem to mind soothing them out. We think it will be a long time before these two say goodbye.http://www.reel-couples.com/paula-mcfadden-elliot-garfield/Reel Thing Rating: 4 out of 5 Reels