Cheap The Goodbye Girl (DVD) (Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason) (Herbert Ross) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Goodbye Girl

Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason play mismatched people stuck rooming together when Mason's ex dumps her and sublets his apartment to Dreyfuss. Mason's character has a young daughter, played by Quinn Cummings, and the three end up tolerating each other until resentment turns to acceptance turns to caring turns to love. It's an old story but it's never been done better than this.

As an adult now, I think the film appeals to me because the male character is more than just window dressing in a story about how hard a woman's life is. Guys don't want to be beat over the head and this movie doesn't do that. Each character has their own chance to have a breakdown, and in the end we find a little of ourselves in all of them.

A Romantic-Comedy Classic
Dumped yet again by her less than scrupulous lover, Marcia Mason is in for quite a surprise when she finds out that her apartment has been sublet to Richard Dreyfuss ( who plays an actor about to begin his first off-Broadway play, Richard III ). Mason's wise-cracking daughter,(played by Quinn Cummings) is fantastic as a cynical 10 year old and almost steals the movie away from the main 2 characters. When Dreyfuss agrees to let Mason and her daughter share the apartment with him, the sparks start to fly. Immediately Dreyfuss begins to assert his egocentric personality by laying down the rules of the house "I DON'T like the panties drying on the rod !! " and their relationship goes down hill from there. But naturally, as it always goes in this type of romantic comedy, the 2 main characters eventually begin to warm up to each other and have a relationship of their own. It's a movie about taking chances and allowing yourself to be vulnerable just ONE more time to let love into your heart. My friend, Debbie, and I have watched this movie so many times we can practically recite the dialogue by heart "mama bear done fixed the cave up good !" This movie is worth watching if just to see Dreyfuss' character play the worst version of Richard III imaginable. He sashays and lisps and flounces around the off-Broadway stage until you are laughing so hard your sides hurt ! I highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants to watch something that is funny and yet touchingly innocent and uplifting, all at the same time.

Dreyfuss as Richard III?
Ever since I learned that Richard Dreyfuss had won the Best Actor Academy Award for his role as Elliot Garfield in The Goodbye Girl, it had been added to my "must-see" list. I just saw it last night and, like many Neil Simon films, it has its ups and downs.

When her live-in actor boyfriend Tony leaves for Italy, out-of-work dancer Paula McFadden (Marsha Mason, who was married to Simon and would eventually act in six of his films) is left alone, again, with her 10-year-old daughter Lucy (Quinn Cummings). What she didn't know is that, before leaving and since the lease was in his name, Tony had sublet their apartment to someone else: struggling Chicago actor Elliot Garfield, just in town for his New York premiere as Richard III. After a lengthy set of arguments, they come to an arrangement: they will share the apartment.

The Goodbye Girl is a romantic comedy so, of course, Paula and Elliot spend the first half of the movie at each other's throat (before coming together at the end) while Lucy delivers the film's best lines and is, in general, adorably charming. Cummings probably gives the film's most engaging performance. Mason is good, but her sharp features left me wondering what the attraction was, although the bearded and bespectacled Dreyfuss is no catch, either. (It is apparent that the cast was chosen for their acting ability and not their matinee idol looks.)

And now Dreyfuss: did he deserve the Oscar over Woody Allen (Annie Hall), Richard Burton (Equus), Marcello Mastroianni (A Special Day), and John Travolta (Saturday Night Fever)? I'm torn but tend to lean toward the positive, not based on his entire performance, but on specific moments when I went "wow" like when Paula and Lucy go to see him after the opening of Richard III. Every bit of that scene comes through his eyes and facial expression. He doesn't say a word and, probably because of that, my eyes were riveted to him. For the rest, just imagine Hooper from Jaws in love; Dreyfuss usually plays himself. Although I can certainly imagine that Jason Alexander's performance as George on Seinfeld owes more than a little to Dreyfuss' 1970s film persona, especially here.

Neil Simon stories are generally uneven and The Goodbye Girl is no exception. When he is writing comedy, there is no one better. Unfortunately, he likes to insert moments of drama in his plays, as well, and, after laughing so much, the absence of it is very noticeable. I found myself slowly losing interest toward the end as the romance developed. I'm not intrigued by watching two very ordinary-looking people kissing, and there is at least one intense scene of that alone. Also, Lucy became less prominent as the romance was played out, and that is a loss. And the last quarter of simply didn't have room to be funny. Surprisingly enough, even though The Goodbye Girl is one of the few Simon movies not based on a Broadway play, it feels like one: it takes place almost entirely in one location, and the actors (particularly Dreyfuss) often descend to extreme gestures. I can't imagine watching it again, but I think people should see it, especially actors, if just to watch Dreyfuss play Richard III as a mincing gay man. It's offensive in the best way.