The Goodbye Girl (1977)

Director:

Herbert Ross

Writer:

Neil Simon (written by)

Release Date:

1 February 1978 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Thank you Neil Simon for making us laugh at falling in love...again.

Plot:

After being dumped by her live-in boyfriend, an unemployed dancer and her 10-year-old daughter are reluctantly forced to live with a struggling off-Broadway actor.

Plot Keywords:

Apartment | Actor | Daughter | Dancer | Love

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 9 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Richard Dreyfuss	...	Elliot Garfield
Marsha Mason	...	Paula McFadden
Quinn Cummings	...	Lucy McFadden
Paul Benedict	...	Mark
Barbara Rhoades	...	Donna
Theresa Merritt	...	Mrs. Crosby
Michael Shawn	...	Ronnie
Patricia Pearcy	...	Rhonda
Gene Castle	...	Assistant Choreographer
Daniel Levans	...	Dance Instructor
Marilyn Sokol	...	Linda
Anita Dangler	...	Mrs. Morganweiss
Victoria Boothby	...	Mrs. Bodine
Robert Costanzo	...	Liquor Store Salesman
Pancho González	...	Mugger (as Poncho Gonzalez)

Also Known As:

Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Richard Dreyfuss won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as Elliot Garfield. At 29, he was the youngest actor to win this Oscar. This record was broken by Adrien Brody when he won the Best Actor Oscar in 2003 for his lead role in The Pianist (2002)

Goofs:

Continuity: When Elliott comes home drunk, he knocks over a table with a typewriter on it, in the next shot, the table looks undisturbed.

Quotes:

Elliott Garfield: [reading a review of his performance as Richard III] "It never occurred to us that William Shakespeare wrote the 'Wizard of Oz'. However, Elliot Garfield makes a splendid Wicked Witch of the North." Tacky. Tacky. Well, if they're gonna kill me. Let 'em kill me with panache.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Just Shoot Me!: The Goodbye Girl (#7.16)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

How About You? (I Like New York in June)

Great Movie

I don't normally go in for Romantic comedies too much, but this was a very entertaining movie.

Dreyfus is just mesmerizing and hilarious, and Marsha Mason was very good. A very enjoyable, uplifting movie.