Der Untermieter (1977)
35KDer Untermieter: Directed by Herbert Ross. With Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings, Paul Benedict. After being dumped by her live-in boyfriend, an unemployed dancer and her 10-year-old daughter are reluctantly forced to live with a struggling off-Broadway actor.
“The Goodbye Girl is a well-paced and bright romantic comedy from the 1970u0026#39;s which also reflects the lifestyle and social currents of that decade, sandwiched between 60u0026#39;s idealism and 80u0026#39;s materialism. This might sound glib but for me, it fits neatly in that period when young people were coping with disappointments and heartache as they tried to build lives for themselves. The script and the acting are funny, sad and entertaining throughout.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe repartee between Marsha Mason and Richard Dreyfuss sparkles as the two people who are forced to accept each other as roommates, only because of economic necessity. One is a granola-eating guy from Chicago who meditates and exercises as he tries to make it in the New York theatre scene. The young woman is a single mother who has been abandoned by her common-law husband and tries to return to dancing. The music of Bread evokes the soft rock of the decade. We see Marsha Mason working as a sales girl for a Japanese car company in an era before Japanese cars were commonplace. Before gay rights became part of the social agenda, Richard Dreyfuss takes on the role of Richard II in a way that a 1970u0026#39;s audience felt was more like their home decorator or hairdresser. It all seems a bit dated and predictable; however, with the acting of Mason and Dreyfus and the brilliant script from Neil Simon, it still entertains and resonates with audiences.”
