Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This made-for-TV film is one that I felt instantly inclined to pick up on DVD when I came across it on Amazon, due mostly in part to the recognizable and talented cast. Patricia Heaton appeared in a couple movies and landed some guest spots on television series before her breakthrough on "Everybody Loves Raymond," but this is one of the few films in which she stars. Many sitcom actors experience some difficulty transitioning to film, but Heaton has an apparent ease on camera and performs this role quite well, despite the fact that it is so different from her gig as Debra on "Raymond." In fact, any fan of that show who is familiar with Heaton's tough-as-nails, take-no-crap-from-anybody role may be a bit humored to see her in this movie as a character who is bawling over a guy within the first five minutes, but for her it works just fine. Heaton has a definite knack for humor and sarcasm in her acting, which gives her a nice distinction and gives her onscreen success.
"The Goodbye Girl" is a simple, sweet story of a single mother with a wise-beyond-her-years daughter and a reputation for falling for and being dumped by several actor types. As the sweet but undeniably cliched plot continues, another actor enters her life and shows a definite potential to establish a family with Heaton and her child.
There is not a whole lot to the storyline and therefore not much to really comment on in that aspect, but the cast was well chosen and gives the movie a nice touch. Jeff Daniels is a genuinely funny actor with many humorous scenes here, and young child starlet Hallie Kate Eisenberg (remember those infamous Pepsi commercials?) maintains those classic out-of-control curls and river-deep dimples to give a believable portrayal as Patricia Heaton's 10-year-old daughter. Eisenberg has grown quite a bit since doing all those movies as a tiny little girl, but she works very well alongside Heaton and seems to be doing just fine as a preteen star. It is also nice to see Heaton playing such a large part with a child actress. Of course, she played a devoted and loving mother on "Raymond," but in that show we actually don't see her interacting that much with her kids--it is mostly suggestive that she is with them a lot of the time. This movie has her and Eisenberg interacting all the way through, and the fact that they are more like friends than mother and daughter gives them both some good improvisational material to work with.
In short, "The Goodbye Girl" is a movie worth renting or buying if you like the cast and would enjoy seeing a lighthearted and entertaining family story.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl (2004 TV Movie) (2004)
The Goodbye Girl is a contemporary turn on Academy? Award-nominated Neil Simon's classic film about a dumped-on divorcee and an aspiring actor who become unwilling roommates in a New York City apartment.
Click here for more information about Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl (2004 TV Movie) (2004)
