“The Goodbye Girl” (1977) Had Me at Hello

(courtesy of latimes.com)

I officially love The Goodbye Girl (1977). If you don’t believe me yet, I’ll inform you that I recently received a print of the official poster in the mail and I’ve hung it up on my bedroom wall right next to my Top Hat poster. They make a great team. But enough about me. Let’s talk movies.

The Goodbye Girl was written by Neil Simon (The Odd Couple, Barefoot in the Park), directed by Herbert Ross, and it starred Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws, American Graffiti) and Marsha Mason.

One question: Why isn’t this movie more well known? It isn’t extremely well-known, at least compared to films like When Harry Met Sally and Casablanca. Sometimes, though, I think it’s even more fun to enjoy something that’s not well-known. But gosh dang it, let’s talk about it. Let’s party like it’s 1985 – like it’s time to sit down for a Thursday Night Movie on ABC:

 

The Goodbye Girl tells the story of a single mother named Paula McFadden whose married boyfriend, Tony, has just left her with no warning. She finds a letter on the mantle in the apartment they shared together with Paula’s ten year old daughter, Lucy (Quinn Cummings) in Manhattan. Devastated by this, Paula is then informed by her landlady that Tony had subleased the apartment before his departure, another move that was unbeknownst to Paula. She becomes furious and declares that she will not be giving up the apartment.

Later that night, a strange rain-soaked man knocks on the door and informs Paula that he is a friend of Tony’s and that he is now a resident of the apartment. Paula becomes furious once again and tells him that he is not welcome in the apartment, but the man is persistent enough that she finally caves in and lets him in to discuss the matter.

The strange man in question: Elliot Garfield (Richard Dreyfuss) is a stage actor from Chicago who acts in off-off Broadway plays. When he tells Paula his profession, she’s angered: After Tony ran out, she sees all male actors on the same level.

She finally relents and allows him to stay but on (unfairly) strict conditions. Their relationship from the start is rocky at best: There is seldom a moment of peace or agreement between Paula and Elliot.

Exhibit A: (Also, haha @ the title of this video)

“And I DON’T. LIKE. THE. PANTIES. DRYING. ON. THE. ROD.”

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Exhibit B:

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Paula works hard to get into shape so that she can hopefully return to the stage as a dancer, like she once was. Later on, she gets a gig modeling/selling cars.

Throughout the film, Elliot and Paula slowly come to admire each other. Elliot shows that he’s a compassionate guy and he begins to adopt a sweet fatherly role for Lucy.

Then, things begin to get complicated. Sparks begin to fly between Elliot and Paula, which makes Lucy upset. When things become obviously more-than-platonic, Lucy becomes convinced that Elliot is just another Tony; that she and her mother will be, once again, deserted and heartbroken. For those of you who haven’t watched the film, I invite you to give it a view and fill in the blanks (and the ending) for yourselves.

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So, what was it about The Goodbye Girl that captivated me? 

• The fact that Paula has classic movie star posters hung up on some of the apartment walls. When she shows Elliot his room, we are treated to the sight of a big Jean Harlow poster hanging up above the bed. Later on, we can (briefly) see classic film star photos posted in Elliot’s dressing room. I spotted a James Cagney one, specifically. Where can I find one of those?

• Elliot’s Richard III performance: I lost it. The director of the show forces Elliot to portray the titular character as a highly, highly hiiiiighly flamboyant gay man and although Elliot hates it, the results for the movie watcher are astounding. I’d pay big money to see that performance live.

• Richard Dreyfuss’s performance/The quirkiness of Elliot: Dreyfuss rightfully won an Oscar for this role. At first, Elliot seems arrogant and comes off as annoyingly pretentious…at least through they eyes of Paula. But I love that he’s so quirky: Among other things, he plays his guitar in the nude when he can’t sleep, meditates each  morning (always with incense, of course), and he’s extremely cautious about what kind of food goes into his body. We, the audience, get to see that he’s actually a great guy who has a romantic side. I mean, holy…… Which leads me to:

• The bathroom scene: Out of context, that probably sounds weird. But if you know what I’m talking about, I hope you agree with me here. I melted during this scene. HOLY DREYFUSS.
• The rooftop scene: For those of you who have yet to see this movie, I won’t say much. Geez, I melted once again during this scene. I know I’m not the only one.

• Quinn Cummings’ performance as Lucy McFadden: She was just ten years old but she played that role like a seasoned veteran. In my head, I have branded her the ’70s Margaret O’Brien. She’s so funny in this movie. Her performance landed her a nomination for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award and a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe Award.

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The song “Goodbye Girl”, released and performed by David Gates, was introduced at the end of the film and became a hit the following year:

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Do yourself a favor and watch (or re-watch) The Goodbye Girl. Some may find it to be way too cheesy, but it’s really cute. I think Dreyfuss really carries it. This was the first film of his that I ever watched; I only discovered Jaws (1975) last week – literally. He’s such a dream. (According to sixteen people on Twitter, I’m not the only one who has a crush on ’70s Dreyfuss.) As mentioned before, Quinn Cummings holds her own, too. She’s fantastic.

Grab a blanket, sit on the couch, dim the lights, and enjoy The Goodbye Girl.

Happy watching!