Review of The Goodbye Girl (1977) by Tony B — 31 Oct 2015

Herbert Ross's wonderfully warm gem of a romantic comedy with an brilliantly funny Academy Award nominated original screenplay by Neil Simon. It concerns a young out-of-town actor named Elliot Garfield, magnificently played by Richard Dreyfuss, in a charismatic tour-de-force comic performance that earned the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and BAFTA Award for Best Actor, and a dumped-on divorcee Paula McFadden, played sensationally by the lovely Marsha Mason, in an Academy Award nominated, Golden Globe Award winning performance for Best Actress, and her ten-year-old years daughter Lucy, superbly played by the scene-stealing Quinn Cummings, in a truly impressive screen debut that earned her an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, who are forced together as unwilling tenants of the same New York City apartment, slowly their growing relationship leads to them falling in love.

Astute direction by the late Ross, with an amusing performance by the late character actor Paul Benedict, as Elliot's off-the wall director of his theatrical play, Simon's touching script is filled with such awesome wit and good humor from start to finish.

A hilarious and uplifting 70s cinematic classic. Nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture. Highly Recommended.