The Goodbye Girl

Re-making a movie is seldom a good idea, but some movies just simply cry out not to be re-made, and this is one of them. The original was from 1977 and starred Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason (Neil Simon’s wife at the time), while this one has Jeff Daniels and Patricia Heaton, who I am not familiar with. And let me say that Daniels and Heaton do not disgrace themselves. They do an okay job. But Richard Dreyfuss owned the part, dammit! His agony at having to play Richard III as a prancing, limp-wristed, lisping fairy was hilarious and terrifying and sad to see, all at the same time. There was no reason to make this movie unless the director, Richard Benjamin (who has a cameo at the end) had something new to say, better to offer. And he has nothing.