The Goodbye Girl

Dreyfus is amazing - he repeatedly fondles a child, traps a woman in a bathroom kisses her as she says "stop", corrals his girlfriend and then drags her up a flight of stairs... wait, what? Dreyfus' energy and comedic timing are great, but I can't overlook Goodbye Girl's dated view of relationships... it reminds me way too much of how certain stalkers, rapists, and 45-year-old virgin white knights think about women. And why does everyone in this movie have a personality disorder?

I love Neil Simon, but watching Dreyfuss mug and hearing the overly precious dialogue, I can't escape the feeling this is a two-hour long sitcom.

Uhm... kind of good.

A sweet little movie. The little girl is adorable. Richard Dreyfuss is hilarious when forced to play Richard III as gay. Very cute film.

Takes time to get going, but it gets there. Marsha Mason is nothing special, but Dreyfuss is top notch and the kid does very well in her supporting role. They deliver a strong script admirably and it's a nice balance of romance and light laughs.

My favourtie "Friday night comedy". Dreyfuss is at his energetic best, and the dialog is a blast.

This is such a sweet and funny movie. This just might be my favorite Richard Dreyfuss performance.

Dreyfuss is really annoying, and everyone else is tolerable at best. It's not some of Simon's best writing, which is disappointing because he already wrote this movie once before, only then it was called "The Odd Couple", it was original, and it had two supreme actors. So if he was attempting to refine his work with that movie, he failed miserably, if he wasn't, then he must have had a spare version of the original lying around with a whole bunch of coffee spilled all over it.

One of the funniest movies I've ever seen for the first half, at least.

The dialogue is so sharp that it could cut a phone book in half. Very clever and quite funny most of the time. My only wish here is a slower transition period for the romance as they go from dislike to love in a short time. Lucy also needed a bit more dialogue in the back half because she is an absolute delight. Great song.

Great romantic comedy. Neil Simon writes great stuff.

Mason and Dreyfuss fatally ignored W.C. Fields's dictum "Never work with animals or children"--both were out-acted by a 9-year-old girl. Quinn Cummings was, by a lot, the best actor in the flick (she also had the only lines that didn't make one want to spit up). Mason is awful--does her sing-songy delivery work in the theater? I doubt it, and it sure doesn't work here. Pauline Kael: "This may be the bravest, teariest, most crumpled-face performance since the days of Janet Gaynor. Another hit."

Gah, I was way overexposed to this as a kid. Something just doesn't click with me.

Decent, but forgettable.

Good film.

Child actress played her lines perfectly

Should be added to classic Hollywood romantic comedy list.

a movie about people in showbiz, for people in showbiz.