Starting Over (1979)

A divorced man falls in love, but somehow he can't get over his ex-wife. This affects his love life in comic ways. Based on Dan Wakefield's novel.

Director:

Alan J. Pakula

Writers:

Dan Wakefield (based on the novel by), James L. Brooks (screenplay)

Stars:

Burt Reynolds, Jill Clayburgh, Candice Bergen

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Burt Reynolds	...	Phil Potter
Jill Clayburgh	...	Marilyn Holmberg
Candice Bergen	...	Jessica Potter
Charles Durning	...	Michael (Mickey) Potter
Frances Sternhagen	...	Marva Potter
Austin Pendleton	...	Paul
Mary Kay Place	...	Marie
MacIntyre Dixon	...	Dan Ryan
Jay O. Sanders	...	Larry (as Jay Sanders)
Charles Kimbrough	...	Salesman
Richard Whiting	...	Everett
Alfie Wise	...	Workshop Member
Wallace Shawn	...	Workshop Member
Sturgis Warner	...	John Morganson
Mary Catherine Wright	...	Student 1 (as Mary C. Wright)

Storyline

Burt Reynolds is an attractive middle-aged man who suffers a crisis of confidence when ditched by his ambitious singer wife (Candice Bergen), until he begins to forge a new new relationship with an equally insecure teacher (Jill Clayburgh). But when the wife attempts a reconciliation - seduction followed by a truly excruciating song she has composed for him - he realizes where his loyalty lies.

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Plot Keywords:

love | bad singing | 1970s | thanksgiving | dating | 

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Taglines:

Phil Potter would like to straighten out his life...One way, or the other.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 February 1980 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Amar de Novo

Filming Locations:

Boston Garden - 150 Causeway Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Century Associates

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Almost 20 years later, co-star Jill Clayburgh would appear in another movie, which like this one, was also based on a Dan Wakefield novel, Going All the Way. Wakefield also appeared very briefly in that film.

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Goofs

Moving mic shadow is visible on wall in scene where Phil meets Marie's children.

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Quotes

Marilyn Holmberg: What do you want?
Phil Potter: I want us to live together. I want us to get married. I want us to have children together. I want us to put our teeth in the same cup. I want us buried together in a family plot with one headstone. What do you want?
Marilyn Holmberg: I want a separate cup for my teeth.

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Connections

Referenced in Fame (1980)

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Soundtracks

"Joy To The World"
(1741) (uncredited)
Music partly attributed to George Frideric Handel (1741)
Adapted and arranged by Lowell Mason (1839)
In the score at Christmas

User Reviews

Good, but perhaps not quite good enough

It's part of movie lore that Burt Reynolds' career hit the toilet the moment he decided to do Stroker Ace instead of Terms of Endearment, but what people forget is that his previous collaboration with James L. Brooks, on the Alan J. Pakula-directed Starting Over, didn't exactly set the box-office on fire. At the time industry pundits claimed it was because he shaved his 'tache for the film (no, really) but in retrospect it's probably more because this often feels a bit like a superior Lifetime TV movie, the kind of film you won't mind watching if it's on and you have nothing better to do but which you wouldn't actively seek out. There are good moments and good performances (both Candice Bergen, who delivers a trio of memorably awful songs with unashamed – intentional - incompetence and Jill Clayburgh were Oscar nominated as the ex-wife and new woman in unwilling divorcée Reynolds' life, while Charles Durning is on good understated form as his psychiatrist brother), but for all the care with which its made it just never quite catches fire.