The Goodbye Girl (1977)

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.

Director:

Herbert Ross

Writer:

Neil Simon

Stars:

Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings

Won 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Levins	...	Dance Instructor (as Daniel Levans)
Marilyn Sokol	...	Linda
Anita Dangler	...	Mrs. Morganweiss
Victoria Boothby	...	Mrs. Bodine
Robert Costanzo	...	Liquor Store Salesman
Pancho González	...	Mugger (as Poncho Gonzalez)

Storyline

A divorced woman and her daughter come home to find that her boyfriend has left for an out of town job with no warning. This has happened before. The second surprise comes in the form of another actor who has sublet the apartment from her boyfriend (who did not mention the pair of females who would be in residence). After some negotiation the two decide to share the apartment even though she has vowed to stay away from actors.

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Plot Keywords:

single mother | apartment | actor | dancer | female | 

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Taglines:

He's moving in... she's not moving out... it's love at first fight!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

30 November 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bogart Slept Here

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Gross USA:

$102,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Rastar Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The only ever Neil Simon written film nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award. With five nominations, it is also the most ever Oscar nominated Simon film. In its year at the Oscars, it was up against another New York writer's film, Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977), which took home most of the awards this film was nominated for, The Goodbye Girl (1977) just winning the one Oscar for Best Actor - Richard Dreyfuss.

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Goofs

The extent to which Elliott has his head stuck into the headboard changes.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Classics from the Vault: Great Performances That Oscar Ignored (2011)

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Soundtracks

How About You?
(1941) (uncredited)
Music written by Burton Lane
Lyrics written by Ralph Freed
Played on a record and sung by Richard Dreyfuss

User Reviews

My favourite film

My favourite film of all time. Despite its academy awards at the time it remains largely unknown now which is sad. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it makes you feel good. What more can you expect from a movie?