The Goodbye Girl (2004)

Musical dancer on the way out (at 36) Paula McFadden had it swell with actor Tony DeSanti, but instead of taking her to Hollywood he gets a European movie part. He even sublets their (his) ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Benjamin

Writers:

Neil Simon, Neil Simon

Stars:

Jeff Daniels, Patricia Heaton, Hallie Eisenberg

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Daniels	...	Elliot Garfield
Patricia Heaton	...	Paula McFadden
Hallie Eisenberg	...	Lucy McFadden (as Hallie Kate Eisenberg)
Lynda Boyd	...	Donna Douglas
Alan Cumming	...	Mark
Richard Benjamin	...	Oliver Fry
Sharon Wilkins	...	Mrs. Crosby
Zak Santiago	...	Dance Class Instructor
Marco Soriano	...	Ronnie Burns
Woody Jeffreys	...	Eddie, Ronnie's Assistant
Panos Grames	...	Pianist
Jessica Van der Veen	...	Stage Manager
Emily Holmes	...	Rhonda
John Shaw	...	First Gentleman
Jack O'Connell	...	Salesman- Liquor Store

Storyline

Musical dancer on the way out (at 36) Paula McFadden had it swell with actor Tony DeSanti, but instead of taking her to Hollywood he gets a European movie part. He even sublets their (his) New York apartment to Elliot Garfield, who generously lets her stay, even keeping the master bedroom. Pragmatic pre-teen daughter Lucy soon takes to his charm, but Paula remains determined to hate all actors. Despite the stress of a Broadway Shakespeare lead he must play too queer for Frisco, he's determined to snatch romance from ingratitude.

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Plot Keywords:

dancer | love | dancing | undressing | homelessness | 

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Taglines:

A story about love at first fight.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Marsha Mason, who played Paula McFadden in the original movie, also played Patricia Heaton's mother in TV show "The Middle".

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Connections

References The Exorcist (1973)

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Soundtracks

Laughter In the Sunshine
Written by Patrick Woodland

User Reviews

Save your time and rent the original

I loved the original. This remake was just painful. Try though he might Jeff Daniels could not carry off the roll of Elliot with any degree of charm, humor or frenetic energy that Richard Dreyfuss made work so well in the original. Matthew Perry MIGHT have been a better casting choice for Elliot, but it's hard to follow a classic.

And though Patricia Heaton is much easier on the eye than Marsha Mason ever was, she seemed to be phoning in her part as well. Marsha sold the part of a hopeless romantic who'd been dumped one too many times. Patricia seemed to be acting like it was one of her Albertson's commercials.

I really tried to cheer for this remake, but it just didn't hold a candle to the original.

Details

Official Sites:

TNT

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

TNT, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1