The Goodbye Girl is a 1977 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross, written by Neil Simon and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings and Paul Benedict.
Dancer and divorcee Paula McFadden and her ten-year-old daughter Lucy live in a Manhattan apartment with her married boyfriend, Tony DeForrest.
Coming home from shopping, Paula finds Tony gone as he had deserted her to travel to Italy for a film role.
Prior to his departure (and unbeknownst to Paula), Tony sublet the apartment to Elliot Garfield, a neurotic but sweet aspiring actor from Chicago, who shows up in the middle of the night expecting to move in.
Elliot convinces Paula that he will not be a repeat; later he picks up Lucy from school and takes her on a carriage ride, during which she admits she likes him.
It's not that De Niro is not funny, but his humor comes mostly from his nuances, a bemused expression on his face or the way he would look at a character, smile and then look up at the ceiling."
Warner Bros. was less than enthused about Simon's script and considered selling the project to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but the studio ultimately decided to partner with MGM on the film instead.
The title song, "Goodbye Girl", was written and performed by David Gates in 1977, and was a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1977/78, peaking at #15.
"[6] However, he praised Dreyfuss and cited his Richard III scenes as "the funniest in a movie since Mel Brooks staged Springtime for Hitler.
"[8] Charles Champlin of The Los Angeles Times lauded it as "the best and most blissfully satisfying romantic comedy of the year and then some.
"[9] Arthur D. Murphy of Variety called the film "another feather in Herbert Ross' directorial cap," with Dreyfuss giving "his best screen performance to date.
"[10] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote that the film "evolves into the most satisfying comedy Simon has written directly for the movies.
One tolerates the plot mechanics for the sake of the genuinely amusing aspects of his script, the bright remarks and the distinctive or appealing character traits that provide good performers with live ammunition.
"[11] Pauline Kael of The New Yorker was negative, commenting, "It's not Neil Simon's one-liners that get you down in The Goodbye Girl, it's his two-liners.
"[12] David Ansen of Newsweek wrote, "It's pure formula, and Simon plays it straight, all cards on the table, with the conservative professionalism of a gambler used to winning.
As directed by the ubiquitous Herbert Ross, The Goodbye Girl is a modest, bittersweet comedy that will delight Simon fans and leave his critics staunchly unconverted.
The first pilot, aired on NBC in May 1982 and titled Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever,[21] starred Karen Valentine and Michael Lembeck, and was directed by James Burrows from a script by Allan Katz.