Essentials: The Goodbye Girl

Year: 1977
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Directed: Herbert Ross
Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings, Paul Benedict, Barbara Rhoades, Theresa Merritt, Michael Shawn
Production: Warner Bros.

There are a precious few writers in Hollywood who have gained name recognition among audience members. Those who have entered the upper echelons of critical and popular recognition include such names as Woody Allen, Quentin Tarantino and Aaron Sorkin. Yet hidden among this elite group is the consistently under-appreciated Neil Simon; a playwright turned occasional screenwriter who along with Mel Brooks and the Zucker/Abrahams team modernized the way we see comedy on the screen. In fairness to those who don't know his name, he was much more of a playwright in the Noel Coward, George Bernard Shaw stripe. My first experience with Simon was reading Lost in Yonkers in grade school, and I immediately fell in love with his sophisticated yet workman-like brand of comedy.

Marsha Mason sporting the perfect b***h face

The Goodbye Girl starts with Paula (Mason) and Lucy (Cummings) a mother and daughter pair living in a quaint New York City apartment. Paula has been seeing a married actor who jilts her to go to Italy to shoot a movie. Unable to pay rent and struggling with a re-ignited dancing career, Paula's troubles are compounded with the arrival of an unwelcome house guest (Dreyfuss). Elliot happens to be a struggling actor as well and happened to have subleased the apartment out from under her nose. Having the choice between moving out or dealing with the neurotic but kindhearted actor, Paula and Lucy choose to stay. Thus begins an uncommon living arrangement that turns into a budding romance.

For every grounded hardship the characters face, Simon is quick to add a one-liner to break the tension and further endear the audience to the characters. The dialogue is so sharp and bursting at the seems with goofy, quick-witted, verbal sparring that it's easy to assume the movie was adapted from a play. Yet the movie is an original. Simon did not adapt one of his plays as he so often does but instead tried to adapt a movie partially based on the overnight success of Dustin Hoffman (starring Robert De Niro). The original script was much darker than Simon would have liked so he tinkered until he came up with The Goodbye Girl's adept mix of humor, romance and pathos.

The movie has the added bonus of having three very good central actors who take full advantage of the dialogue. Dreyfuss is truly charming as the scruffy, wayward Elliot struggling to make a splash in New York's stage scene. His natural amiability and occasionally goofy demeanor brings the perfect balance and achieves a high level of energy that Mason and Cummings reach and exceed with aplomb. Mason likewise is a vision as Paula, approaching a similar balance between forlorn neuroticism and strength. The real show-stealer however is Cummings as the young Lucy. At times the dialogue makes her a bit too precocious for her own good yet between two very strong veteran actors at the top of their game, her standing out seems like a miracle. It's important to note that all three actors received an Academy Award nomination for their portrayals, Dreyfuss becoming the youngest winner at the time.

If there is one sticking point to be expanded on it's the ending which leaves the relationship between Elliot and Paula a little strained yet hurriedly resolved. Perhaps Simon ran out of material or perhaps I found the characters so relatable I simply wanted to see more. Both adults have managed to survive and even thrive in 1970's New York despite the odds being completely against them; I for one would have loved the 15 minute denouement to be more of a victory lap. I suppose Neil Simon was reminded of the old showman saying "always leave the audience wanting more."

Final Grade: A