IMDb > Starting Over (1979)
Starting Over
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Starting Over (1979) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
6.5/10   816 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Down 5% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Alan J. Pakula

Writers:

James L. Brooks (writer)
Dan Wakefield (novel)

Contact:

View company contact information for Starting Over on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

15 February 1980 (Australia) more

Genre:

Comedy more

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 nominations more

NewsDesk:
(3 articles)

The Keeper Promises An Abundance Of Seagal-Related Mayhem
 (From Beyond Hollywood. 23 October 2009, 11:55 AM, PDT)

‘Fantastic Four’ Reboot In the Works
 (From The Flickcast. 1 September 2009, 7:00 AM, PDT)

User Comments:

Burt's best! more (23 total)


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)
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Additional Details

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Norway:16 | USA:R | UK:AA (original rating) | UK:15 (re-rating) (1987)


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

The shower of Valium pills was based on an actual incident that happened to Burt Reynolds. more

Goofs:

Factual errors: During an outdoor grade school carnival, bathing suit-clad Marilyn participates in a dunk tank concession in the dead of a Boston winter. In reality, she would freeze. more

Quotes:

Phil Potter: If I don't touch you soon I'll go out of my mind. more

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Barting Over (#14.11)" (2003) more

Soundtrack:

The Way We Were more


FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful.
Burt's best!, 12 January 2003
Author: (barbarella70@yahoo.com) from madison, wi

Exceptionally funny and moving romantic comedy from Alan J. Pakula (Klute, All the President's Men) is a lost late '70's classic! Burt plays Phil Potter, a married every-man who's dumped by his self-consumed wife (Candice Bergen) only to stumble into love with an insecure school teacher (Jill Clayburgh).

Basically it sounds like An Unmarried Woman for men but Starting Over is its own film made with a gentle touch courtesy of Pakula and writer James L. Brooks and features some outstanding performances: Burt Reynolds -displaying vast amounts of charm and sex appeal- can be so beautifully restrained and sensitive (Deliverance, Boogie Nights) but then quickly turn and flash that devil's grin and deliver a line with a comic timing that's pure genius. He's amazing here and Phil is his best creation. Candice Bergen was sensational in Carnal Knowledge but her shallow Jessica is invested with a played-to-the-hilt quality and she shows a hilarious narcissiscm that wouldn't be seen again until Murphy Brown. (See if you can get her delightfully out-of-tune vocal rendition of Better than Evah out of your head after you've watched this!) Jill Clayburgh never found another part like Erica in An Unmarried Woman but then again she really didn't need to and her Marilyn is a slightly high-strung but charmingly shy wallflower and she plays off Reynolds perfectly; the two of them carry Starting Over to its finish with great style.

Starting Over is one of those movies that people vaguely remember and you almost never come across while channel surfing. (It's not even available on DVD and most video stores don't even have a copy of the VHS tape!) It's a shame it's not more available because it has an honest, acutely observational intelligence going for it and feels like a romantic comedy made for people who don't like romantic comedies. It's a great movie!

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Burt Reynolds is so cool! kc2173-1
One of the funniest films I have ever seen Joshf84
My friend's uncle was in this film! kaymation
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