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The Goodbye Girl More at IMDbPro »

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70 reviews in total

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23 out of 29 people found the following review useful:
I LOVE this movie, 7 July 2001

Author: monkeyface_si (monkeyface_si@yahoo.com) from Staten Island, NY

One of the best romantic comedies ever. Dreyfuss & Mason generate as much chemistry as I have ever seen on the screen from a couple that was never a couple. Quinn Cummings delivers one of the greatest child actress performance in cinema history -- always genuine and winning. The dialogue is witty and brittle. The direction never strikes a false note. And all the dualities of New York are well exploited. I simply LOVE this movie.

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26 out of 36 people found the following review useful:
Totally unbelievable--but LOTS of fun!, 18 February 2004

Author: Wayne Malin (wwaayynnee51@hotmail.com) from United States

Paula McFadden (Marsha Mason) and her 10 year old daughter Lucy (Quinn Cummings) are abandoned in NYC by her married boyfriend. He also sublets the apartment they share to a young actor, Eliot Garfield (Richard Dreyfuss). They agree to live together even though they hate each other. Naturally, they fall in love.

Totally predictable but I really enjoyed it! I loved in back in 1977 and I still love it now! Neil Simon's script is basically just a series of one liners--but they ARE funny and Dreyfuss, Mason and Cummings deliver them perfectly. They come fast and furious and the movie moves very quickly--it doesn't seem like it's 110 minutes long. Dreyfuss deservedly won the Best Actor Award for this film--he's 'on' non-stop and is full of energy and fun.

Mason was nominated for Best Actress and she's almost as good as Dreyfuss (she was a little too whiny for me). Cummings isn't that good--but she WAS only 10 when she did this. It's just that her character is one of those screen kids that talks and acts like an adult--I didn't think having her swear occasionally was cute or funny. Nonetheless she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. The movie was also up for Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture. Also there's a GREAT title song written and performed by David Gates over the closing credits (it was also a big hit song back in '77). Also Nicol Williamson pops up (unbilled) in a short but VERY funny cameo.

The only debit--the romance scenes were corny (but they do work) and some of the dramatic scenes were TERRIBLY written (Simon was always better at doing comedy). And he has two thunderstorms pop up out of NOWHERE in this movie during a big romantic and dramatic scene. That was pushing it a little too much! Still the acting carries those scenes through and it's a minor complaint.

A sweet, very funny, enjoyable film. Just don't think about it TOO much. I give it a 9.

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19 out of 24 people found the following review useful:
Another successful Simon "Odd Couple" story, 12 February 2006

Author: theowinthrop from United States

Neil Simon is consistent. He loves to use and reuse the "ODD COUPLE" plot with variations in one play or another: in the original ODD COUPLE, it's female version (shown in the early 1990s), the sequel film with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, the play (and movie) THE SUNSHINE BOYS - where the apartment is a lifelong comedy team partnership, and this one. Here it is Marcia Mason and her daughter, Quinn Cummings, who are always being deserted by Mason's husband or her series of boy-friends who usually are actors. Mason has become determined never again to trust or date an actor. But the apartment happens to be in the name of her last boyfriend, and he has made a subletting deal with out-of-town actor Richard Dreyfus. Dreyfus is determined to stay in the apartment while in New York (he is starring in a production within the city - off Broadway). He and Mason gradually agree to cease their hostilities and to share the apartment, but Mason finds Dreyfus weird: he is only eating special food, and he chants and plays the guitar at night. On the other hand Quinn Cummings finds he's not such a bad guy (he helps her when she has a headache, relaxing her to sleep).

The play that Dreyfus is appearing in the lead role in is Shakespeare's RICHARD III. It is being produced by Paul Benedict (a rare big part for that good comic actor), but his ideas about the production are upsetting Dreyfus. Dreyfus is approaching the role in the classical, "Olivier" form - the master, evil Machiavellian monarch. Machiavellian to be sure in Benedict's version, but also gay. As Benedict pushes it, it is the story of "the Queen who would be King". Dreyfus's performance of the play within the film, following Benedict's direction, is an everlasting comic joy.

The highs and lows of the two warring suite mates follows a romantic course, as they gradually fall in love with each other. Will this actor prove to be another one of those typically selfish actors that Mason resents, or will he prove to be different to her and Cummings - will he be the real love of her life?

A first rate comedy, and Dreyfus' Oscar - a well earned one.

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17 out of 24 people found the following review useful:
Gives you a warm glow, 24 October 2000

Author: datkins-3 from Surrey, England

Simply my favourite movie of all time. First saw it with my fiancee (at the time) and it was her favourite also. We saw it 3 times. Whenever it is on TV I watch, and I have two video copies (in case one gets lost or spoiled!).

It stars Richard Dreyfuss at his best, and Marsha Mason and the "kid" are excellent too. Perhaps it is one of the best of films because it is able to make you laugh and cry, and sometimes at the same time. Neil Simon's writing is so comic and never allows the pathos to drown you. I believe it won a number of Oscars when first released yet almost no one I rave to about it has ever heard of it. Strange!

This film is very much under-appreciated. It is a wonderful tale of of family, of career, of relationships and of love. The rooftop scene is just fantastic and leaves a knot in my stomach every time I see it. A warm glow and a feeling of "this is how life should turn out". Great movie, great script. Fantastic.

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8 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
A perfect a romantic comedy. Warm hearted, funny and well, just perfect!, 20 April 2008

Author: donmac117 from United States

Two decades have passed since I first viewed "The Goodbye Girl". I can think of few films that hold up like this Neil Simon comedy. I read in a previous review that the plot is "unbelievable". Am I wrong in recalling that the writer admitted that he got the concept complete from the life of an actor? Just another case of reality possessing more truth than fiction. Richard Dreyfus and Marsha Mason should be added to that rare list of actors whose performances will forever define the characters they portrayed. Elliot Garfield and Paula McFadden belong to them in perpetuity. Played by Quinn Cummings, Lucy McFadden simply made the film work as a sophisticated child who never uttered one cloying word. Bless you Quinn, wherever your are. For someone who has been a friend of actors, and who has adored dancers, every situation in the film rang true. Previous reviews havecovered all the cinematic aspects, so I will just add my accolade: This is a film that rates with the best of Hollywood.

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6 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
New romantic comedies haven't got a hope..., 8 November 2003

Author: messynessie from England

If they think they can compete with the likes of The Goodbye Girl. It's definitely the best of it's genre, and I don't know why more people haven't seen it. The acting is superb, the jokes are (mostly) hilarious, however many times you see the film, and I have so many favourite scenes I could probably tell you the whole movie.Richard Dreyfuss is excellent as Elliott, the wet stranger that arrives at Paula's apartment, and Quinn Cummings (Lucy) is a perfect example of a 10 year old girl. For once, it's a film that isn't totally predictable and doesn't end with a kiss!

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
A special edition DVD would be a blast, 4 May 2007

Author: paul winnett from london

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The greatest romantic comedy of all time, and you cannot even get a "Vanilla" DVD in the uk. This is a movie with a strange history. Originally started in 1976 by Mike Nichols, it was called "Bogart slept here" and starred Marsha Mason and Robert DeNiro.The great thespian is rumoured to of walked out of rehearsals after Mason said that he should respect Mike Nichols more. (Nichols had worked out that DeNiro could not "Do Joy".) No such problems for Dreyfuss. He is amazing as Elliot Garfield. The two leads capture each line to perfection, which is no mean feat as nearly every line in this movie is a gag. Even Quinn Cummings is that rare thing a child actor that does not make you reach for a revolver. Even the now dated Gay King Richard routine works still as it is done in such a sweet, good natured way. So many great lines (my personal favourite..... "Capital P, Capital U, capital TRID") The final shots of Mason are an echo of the final shots of (the vastly overrated) "Breakfast at Tiffanys". Also this is one of those rare Romances that men enjoy, possibly because Dreyfuss is not exactly George Clooney, is an incredible smart arse throughout. and unlike someone like Hugh Grant actually knows when to put the "moves" on (so to speak) Hope for all average looking guys everywhere. A Brilliant, Brilliant movie. Please can we have a DVD release with whistle and bells please Rastar and Sony.

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10 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
The Goodbye Girl, 21 April 1999
Author: Tim Cox from Marietta, OH

A gem of a picture with one of the most lovely endings I have ever seen. Dreyfuss is priceless as a die hard actor looking for his big break. Mason is wonderful as the women he has to share an apartment with, then fall in love with as well.

Simon's script melts with humor and heart from start to finish. It's one that gets better with every viewing.

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4 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Marsha Mason Does Helen Trent ***1/2, 9 January 2006

Author: edwagreen from United States

Poor Marsha Marson. All of her relationships end in failure. The guy simply walks out. She has a precocious daughter, devilishly played by Quinn Cummings. The latter received a supporting actress nomination and faded from the movie scene real fast. Where are you Quinn darling?

Forced to share an apartment with a stranger, Mason may finally be on the right track. Richard Dreyfuss is that man and in a surprise Oscar winning performance (Richard Burton was also up for Equus that year), he is perfect in the role as the charmer.

By movie's end Dreyfuss has to go off to somewhere but unlike the other men in her life, will return. How do we know he is coming back? Just see this delightful film and find out.

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9 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
Great Movie, 24 July 2002
Author: jmorrison-2 from Farmington Hills, MI

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.

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