mark.waltz Back when the movies focused on real looking people in amusing situations and didn't focus on loud special effects or the supernatural, writers could get the audiences in and win awards for classy projects like this. You can't get any more real than Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason, so real looking that you might confuse them for your neighbor, your college professor or your boss. Both actors, trained for the stage, feel right at home in the world of Neil Simon, particularly Mason who was married at the time.With her lover abandoning her and subleasing the apartment out from under her, Mason finds herself in a bind when Dreyfuss shows up in the middle of the night with a receipt and a legal right to move in and kick her out. In spite of her attitude towards him (or because of her young daughter, Quinn Cummings), he allows her to stay. The two are already quirky enough, and together, they turn each others worlds upside down. With his career as a dramatic actor and her struggle as a 30 something year old chorus girl, they are two worlds of theater that don't always understand the other. "Ask an actor a question, he gives you his credits." She's done everything from "Fiddler" to "Company", and he refuses to play a gay, de-humped Richard III. Simon pays tribute to his first love, the theater, and having written the scripts for both books and musicals, and he covers pretty much every archetype within the theater that could possibly be covered. While Quinn Cummings quickly made her exit from "the business", she makes quite an impression as Mason's very worldly daughter who is often more adult than the two adults surrounding her. But it is thanks to her, the adults come to an understanding, especially after she is mugged. But the conflicts continue, realistically, and they are realistically neurotic as opposed to pretentiously neurotic and demanding of attention. They show the New York I remember from just 20 years ago when people could have conflicts like this yet be able to come to an understanding.So between the writing and the three brilliant performances (not to mention vintage New York footage and a great theme song), this is a comedy for the ages. The musical version of this may have tanked, but surrounded by an ensemble of New York stage character actors, this remains a winner. This has the wild spoof of the gay version of "Richard III" (with Paul Benedict of "The Jeffersons" as its director) that is completely unforgettable. The viewing of this was not the winter of my discontent.

DKosty123 It is starting to feel like another planet when you think about the time that has passed since Neil Simon was cranking out comedies like this one in the 1970's. What makes it feel longer is - Marsha Mason is 70 years old this year 2012 Richard Dreyfuss is 65 years old this year.Their daughter who was a newcomer in this movie is 40 years old this year.Dreyfuss won an Oscar for this one and deservedly so. His character is extremely energetic and in a time before it is fashionable has to play a gay King Richard.As for Mason, she is delicious and bitchy all in moments.Neil Simon is 85 this year and his last writing credit was in 2007. In the 1970's Simon was doing scripts like this, The Odd Couple and The Sun Shine Boys.While the Goodbye Girl is not quite as well done as the others, this is still a pretty solid script for it's era. What seems strange is that this one just was shown on The Essentials on TCM. I am not used to having a movie that came out when I grew up being honored in that Saturday night slot. Still, it deserved the recognition.We need films like this one to remind us people and movies are not perfect.

newkidontheblock I hate rom-coms. I really do. I hate their predictability. I hate the two dimensional characters. I hate how dated they usually are (I'm looking at you, "You Got Mail"). I just can't stand them. Every so often, though, a romantic comedy comes along that doesn't keep my eyes rolling for an hour and a half. One where the characters aren't cardboard cutouts of actual human beings. One that's actually able to pull at my heart strings and let out the inner romantic. The Goodbye Girl is one of those movies.The complaint I had with the film was the Lucy McFadden character played by Quinn Cummings. To be fair, I thought she showed a good range of emotions and as the movie progressed I actually started to like her. At the start of the movie, though, she was not a welcomed presence. Her over precociousness made her seem like a Tatum O'Neil wanna be. Lucy McFadden is kind of like taking a dip in a pool really early in the morning. At first, it feels harsh but it warms up to you as you stay a little while longer.The movie does have a lot of the clichés we've come to hate about rom-coms. It has the "strong woman" with the heart of ice. It has the quirky love interest that melts aforenamed heart of ice. It has the wildly unlikely circumstances leading up to the wildly unlikely romance and the big city backdrop, but somehow it just works. I don't know why or how, but it just does. I thought Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason had great performances and I thought Elliot Garfield and Paula McFadden were likable characters. Is it my favorite movie of all time? No. Is it a bit of an Odd Couple rip off? Yes (though I guess that sort of thing works for Neil Simon). Did it give me that warm, fuzzy feeling rom-coms are supposed to give you (but so often fail to do)? Absolutely.

dollnut27 I have never been one for "chick flicks", or even comedies as a rule, but this is one of my all time favorite movies. It is easy to see why it was nominated, and won so many awards. Marsha Mason does an excellent job (I absolutely love her in this role), as do Richard Dreyfus and Quinn Cummings. They play off one another well, and the delivery of the one liners is perfect. Even though the plot is predictable, it is well directed, the story is fast paced, and the acting is incredible. I just finished watching it again for the umpteenth time and came away with the same warm feeling I had the first time I saw it back in the late seventies. If you are the type of movie goer that enjoys watching the actors for the art of acting, as well as for enjoyment, give this movie a chance. I think you will be happily surprised at how much you will enjoy it.