Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role, huh? Four other Oscar nominations,
hum? I guess a lot has changed between 1977 and today because this film was lost
on me.
Dancer Marsha Mason's actor boyfriend just dumped her and moved out of the
country. Even worse, he subleased their apartment to another actor,
Richard Dreyfuss, without informing her. So now, kinda like in
THE MORE THE MERRIER, she has an uninvited guest living with her. At first they are at each
other like cats and dogs, but of course they eventually fall in love.
Never saw that coming!
Normally I'm a fan of Neil Simon's work, but this one wasn't that good. I
didn't care for the characters. Dreyfuss comes across as a self-absorbed
dick and Mason's entire existence seems to revolve around if she has a boyfriend
or not. I didn't feel any sympathy of either one of them.
As far as the acting goes, Richard Dreyfuss was pretty much your standard
onscreen Richard Dreyfuss. I thought he was much better in
JAWS. Marsha Mason...ehh, she wasn't all that good, but maybe that was just
the pathetic character she was playing. All in all, I found the entire
movie to be a slight bore. Unlikable characters, small kid full of
wise-beyond-her-years wisecracks, highly predictable but still disappointing
ending (there's no way in hell these two loons are gonna make it), 70's interior
designs, interesting outdoor NYC street scenes, Dreyfuss playing a supergay
Richard III (the only funny part of the movie), mediocre acting (Woody Allen
should have won the Acting Oscar instead for
ANNIE HALL).
Not a bad film just a dated (what the hell was the "blood test" line
about?) and boring one. Skip it.