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Reviews
The Goodbye Girl (1977)
Doesn't hold up
I was 16 when this movie was released and never saw it until 2021. So I was curious would it hold up? I was also wanting to enjoy an Oscar winning performance I had missed. I love many Neil Simon plays and movie adaptations... Odd Couple being my favorite... but was disappointed with this movie. Maybe my opinion would be different if it represented a fond memory from the 70s. But the chemistry between Marsha Mason and Richard Dreyfus was forced, not believable, and never clicked. I've always enjoyed both of them in other movies. Perhaps the portrayal of Richard III as gay was funny in 1977, but no longer. Other stereotypes and clichés also hurt the enjoyment today and take away from the story telling. The best performance is from Quinn Cummings as Lucy. That holds up to be funny and enjoyable. For better romance films of this era and on-screen chemistry, I would recommend Whats Up Doc and Three Days of the Condor (thriller-romance).
Spenser Confidential (2020)
So much potential, horrible script, and half-done action
Best performances are from Iliza Shlesinger and Alan Arkin. Iliza's execution of her character and her lines were fantastic. Too bad there wasn't more of her in the plot. The police corruption with mob ties, and Latino drug thugs plot line was far from original, and so poorly executed. Every "hook" was too convenient: he is a boxer, so he gets in lots of fights, plus the cliche throw gun down and fight like a man scene; he goes to truck driving school and drools over a big rig truck, only to use it in the climax of the movie in one of the most half-baked "let's just run over the bad guys" scenes. Each cliched hook after hook really insults the audience. This movie jumped the shark when the drug runners only fight with machetes. The script and directing are horrible. I expected much more from Peter Berg.
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009)
One of the worst comedy screenplays
What a waste of acting talent. Great cast, horrible script and directing. This so-called comedy script had no comedic timing, no original story (you should watch Used Cars instead), and a re-tread of tiresome jokes and sophomoric humor that just never lands. What a waste.