The Goodbye Girl

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For other uses, see The Goodbye Girl (disambiguation).

The Goodbye Girl

Directed by	Herbert Ross
Produced by	Ray Stark
Written by	Neil Simon
Starring	Richard Dreyfuss Marsha Mason Quinn Cummings
Distributed by	Warner Bros. MGM
Release date(s)	30 November 1977
Running time	110 minutes
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Goodbye Girl is a 1977 American comedy film. Directed by Herbert Ross, the film stars Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings, and Paul Benedict. The title song, performed by David Gates, became a pop hit. The original screenplay by Neil Simon centers on an odd trio - an egotistical 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 pre-teen daughter.

The Goodbye Girl was subsequently developed into a 1993 Broadway musical of the same name starring Martin Short and Bernadette Peters. A 2004 TNT remake with Jeff Daniels and Patricia Heaton keeps the screenplay from the original version.

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Awards and nominations
5 Reception
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Plot

Paula McFadden (Marsha Mason) learns she has been dumped by her boyfriend Tony and he has sublet their apartment. Shortly thereafter, Elliot Garfield (Richard Dreyfuss) shows up unexpectedly in the middle of the night expecting to live there. Paula has no choice but to let him move in with her and her 10-year-old daughter Lucy (Quinn Cummings). To Paula's disgust, Elliot turns out to be an actor, just like Tony. Since she cannot return Elliot's rent money, she has no choice but to let him move in. However, she makes it very clear from the start that she considers him extremely annoying and unlikeable.

Paula struggles to get back into shape to try to resume her career as a dancer. Meanwhile, Elliot has his own problems. He has landed the title role in a production of Richard III, but the director, Mark (Paul Benedict), wants him to play the character as an exaggerated stereotype of a homosexual, in Mark's words, "the queen who wanted to be king." The play quickly closes.

Despite their frequent clashes, Paula and Elliot fall in love. Then, Elliot is offered a fantastic opportunity that he cannot turn down. The only catch is that the job is in another city. Paula is scared that Elliot is leaving her, never to return, like all the other men in her life.

[edit] Cast

Richard Dreyfuss as Elliot Garfield
Marsha Mason as Paula McFadden
Quinn Cummings as Lucy McFadden
Paul Benedict as Mark
Barbara Rhoades as Donna
Theresa Merritt as Mrs. Crosby
Michael Shawn as Ronnie
Patricia Pearcy as Rhonda

[edit] Production

The film began as a screenplay called Bogart Slept Here, to star Robert DeNiro and Mason.^[1] After several table readings, it was decided DeNiro wasn't right for the role. Dreyfuss was brought in to try out with Mason. At the end of the reading, Neil Simon decided, "It doesn't work, but they do." He rewrote the screenplay in six weeks.

The Paula McFadden character is actually based on Marsha Mason. Neil Simon and Mason were married from 1973 to 1981.

The film's exteriors were shot in New York City and the interiors were shot in Los Angeles.

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] Academy Awards

Academy Award for Best Actor - Dreyfuss. Thirty-year-old Dreyfuss was the youngest ever to win the Best Actor Oscar at the time. He was since been surpassed by Adrien Brody, who was 29 when he won for The Pianist.
Academy Award for Best Picture nomination - Ray Stark
Best Actress nomination - Mason
Supporting Actress nomination - Cummings
Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen nomination - Simon

[edit] Golden Globes

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Best Motion Picture Actor, Musical or Comedy - Dreyfuss
Best Motion Picture Actress, Musical or Comedy - Mason
Best Motion Picture Screenplay - Simon
Best Motion Picture Actress in a Supporting Role nomination - Cummings

[edit] British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards

Best Actor - Dreyfuss
Best Actress nomination - Mason
Best Screenplay nomination - Simon

[edit] Reception

Roger Ebert gave the film a mixed, though mostly-favorable review. He was unimpressed with Mason's performance and the character as written, calling it "hardly ever sympathetic."^[2] However, he praised Dreyfuss and cited his Richard III scenes as "the funniest in a movie since Mel Brooks staged Springtime for Hitler."^[2] Ebert criticized the beginning as "awkward at times and never quite involving", but "enjoyed its conclusion so much that we almost forgot our earlier reservations."^[2]

On the other hand, Vincent Canby of The New York Times found the film to be "Exhausting without being much fun."^[3] and "relentlessly wisecracked".^[3]

Sources point to this film as the first romantic comedy to break the $100 million mark.