The Goodbye Girl: Romance In 1977
By | February 12, 2022
By 1977, when
The Goodbye Girl was released, Neil Simon was already an extremely successful playwright and screenplay writer. He had written a screenplay which he titled
Bogart Slept Here and had cast Robert De Niro opposite Marsha Mason. However, Simon quickly discovered two things: De Niro wasn’t right to play the male lead, Elliot, and the film needed to be more romantic. Additionally, Simon realized that the character of Elliott should not be a movie star as the audience would struggle to feel for him. He revised his script, creating the story of
The Goodbye Girl as a sort of prequel to the story of
Bogart Slept Here. After De Niro left, they brought Dreyfuss in to audition for the role, and, because of his chemistry with Mason, he was cast as Elliot.
Quinn Cummings as Lucy. Source: *IMDb).
Elliot Is An Unexpected Roommate
In the film, Marsha Mason plays Paula McFadden, a divorcee who lives in an apartment with her daughter, Lucy (Quinn Cummings), and Paula's boyfriend Tony DeForrest until he deserts her to travel to Italy for a role in a film. Tony’s name was on the lease, and so prior to his sudden departure, he has to sublet the apartment. Paula knew nothing of this, so when she returns home for the day, she discovers that Tony has left and has sublet the apartment to Elliot Garfield (Richard Dreyfus). Elliot is an aspiring actor from Chicago who arrives in the middle of the night and in the middle of a thunderstorm, assuming he can move in. Paula does not like Elliot when she first meets him, but she lets him move in. Paula is neurotic as is Elliot, and the two disagree about boundaries. Elliot agrees to let Paula and her daughter continue to live there.
Elliot Lands An Unconventional Role
Paula, who had been working as a dancer, is trying to get in shape to return to her career. Elliot manages to get the title role in an off-off Broadway production of Richard III. Elliot agrees to play the character as an over-the-top homosexual stereotype despite the fact that he knows it may bring his career to an early demise. Elliot is right about the performance, as New York theater critics from television stations and newspapers show up on opening night and trash the show with a focus on Elliot and his non-traditional portrayal. Elliot is relieved when the play closes.
Life Creates Challenges For Their Romance
Eventually, Elliot and Paula fall in love, even though the two have frequent clashes. Paula’s daughter likes Elliot, but she is worried that her mother is in an affair that will end like the one with Tony. Once Elliot convinces Paula that he will not be like Tony, he takes Lucy on a carriage ride and tells her he would never do anything to hurt Lucy or Paula. After a film director sees Elliot in an improvisational theater, he lands a role in a film but must go to Seattle. His flight is delayed, and he calls Paula to invite her to come with him during the filming, leaving Lucy with Paula’s friend. Paula does not leave with him, but before they hang up, Elliot asks Paula to restring his guitar which he left in the apartment. Because this is his prized guitar, she realizes he will return.
A Happy Ending For The Movie
The Goodbye Girl was a tremendous success, grossing over $100 million and leading to a number of Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. Of those, Dreyfuss won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, making him the youngest actor to win at the time. Most of the critical response was positive, with Roger Ebert giving it three out of four stars and saying that Dreyfuss’ performance as Richard III was “the funniest in a movie since Mel Brooks staged "Springtime for Hitler.” Because of the film’s success, Neil Simon began to work on a sequel, Mr. Famous. He abandoned it because it wasn’t sympathetic, and audiences would no longer be rooting for the character. The Goodbye Girl was adapted into a Broadway musical in 1993, starring Bernadette Peters and Martin Short. Patricia Heaton and Jeff Daniels starred in a TV movie version in 2004.
