Neil Simon’s The Goodbye Girl

Directed by Herbert Ross, Neil Simon’s The Goodbye Girl details the complications that ensue after a struggling actor (Richard Dreyfuss’ Elliot Garfield) is forced to live with an unemployed dancer (Marsha Mason’s Paula McFadden) and her precocious 10-year-old daughter (Quinn Cummings’ Lucy). It’s a sitcom-friendly premise that’s employed to entertaining yet decidedly erratic effect by Ross, as the filmmaker, armed with Neil Simon’s screenplay, delivers a hit-and-miss comedy that’s rarely as effective (or engrossing) as its central performances – with, especially, Dreyfuss’ perpetually hypnotic work here going a long way towards smoothing over the narrative’s frequent lulls and missteps. (The sequence involving Elliot’s larger-than-life rant about his living preferences represents an obvious high-water-mark within the proceedings, ultimately.) The pervasively lackadaisical vibe ensures that Neil Simon’s The Goodbye Girl never quite becomes as engaging or absorbing as one might’ve anticipated (and hoped), although it’s equally apparent that the predictably clever dialogue and strong chemistry between the three leads paves the way for a midsection and second half that are, at least, watchable – which, when coupled with a satisfying finale, cements the picture’s place as a decent-enough endeavor that would’ve benefited from a much shorter running time.

**1/2 out of ****