Protraph
Lack of good storyline.
Doomtomylo
a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Sabah Hensley
This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
thefutters
This movie was brilliantly done. I confess that I've never seen the 1977 original, and it is no insult to the actors in that one to say that Jeff, Patricia, and Hallie are a fabulous trio in this film. Take this version as a standalone and you will be impressed! The comic timing is excellent; the emotion is vividly real in almost every scene; the chemistry is actually better early on, when it is more below the surface, than later in the film; and the casting could not have been more perfect.Jeff Daniels is particularly excellent as Elliot Garfield, with his artful blend of dry humor and simple passion. An actor playing an actor on screen is rarely demonstrated so well, but his charm keeps this character utterly believable. I was not a big fan of Patricia Heaton until she took this role, but I discovered a depth in her acting that was not as evident to me from her television work. It helps that she is obviously an intelligent woman, and she brings an endearing mix of tentative hope and cynicism to this character, just as she should. Hallie Kate Eisenberg, in her second role as an intelligent, rather mature child, is the perfect complement to Patricia's Paula McFadden. Hallie plays Paula's daughter in this film, more innocent and hopeful than her mother, but not a stranger to the world and its emotional threats. All three characters are very human, very real; and the intelligent, witty dialogue is so plausible that you almost feel you are being told this story by the characters themselves who are your personal friends.Overall, brilliantly made, perfectly cast, and a real delight! Fans of comedy, romance, and even biting wit, will all be charmed and impressed.
caa821
As great a playwright as he is, Neil Simon occasionally goes a bit "overboard." In the movie "Plaza Suite," there wasn't one single likable character among all three stories, and the same was true of the original "The Out-of-Towners" - despite leads you wouldn't think capable of projecting this. And if it were ever possible to become tired of the great Walter Matthau's presence on screen, "Plaza Suite" confirmed it. In the original of this story, Marsha Mason was, in my opinion, thoroughly annoying - and I never cared for her work in anything of hers I ever saw. Patricia Heaton is 180-degrees opposite, and this movie proves it. Her Paula was someone you'd want to be with, stay with, come home to. Marsha Mason was one which you could visualize anybody chomping at the proverbial "bit" to extricate oneself. Further, Jeff Daniels is far more likable than Richard Dryfess as Elliot. Patricia Heaton rates along with Diane Keaton, Ann Heche, Sharon Stone and Sandra Bullock - as someone whom you thoroughly enjoy watching, whether the character is comedic, serious, tragic, or whatever. This movie's a "9," its predecessor about a "5-1/2."
dan_par_dhs
The 2004 remake of the 1977 version of the goodbye girl was in the least to say awful. Beside from the fact that the actors did not fit the roles very well, everything else was exactly the same. The camera angles along with the words spoken by the characters. It was like the people who decided to redo the movie didn't have enough brains to spice it up a little bit. The character of Paula got annoying as she cried through practically the whole movie. There were some funny moments in the movie and the fact that Jeff Daniels spoke much slower and clearly than Richard Dreyfus. The movie was in the least to say not very good and I would not recommend it to serious movie fans. I give this movie two out of five stars.
machelle129
I love Patricia Heaton on "Raymond." When I heard she was playing Marsha Mason's role in the The Goodbye Girl" I thought it was casting genius and I am also fond of Jeff Daniels (his best work is the Woody Allen film: Purple Rose of Cairo) but I didn't see the two together.I watched with anticipation and understood in just a few minutes that they blew it. Every moment ached with mannequin-like performances even the little girl who is supposed to be a smart-Alic, is actually just smarter than the protagonist and her love interest, Daniels. This one made me angry because I kept watching thinking these two would somehow redeem themselves: but they drone on and on. Don't bother with this one: its a counterfeit. The real dollar bill is the Mason/Dreyfus version which is one of the sweetest stories on film. Remember! ...goodbye doesn't mean forever...unless you watch the Heaton/Daniels version of "The Goodbye Girl."
