Happy Birthday Herbert Ross

Since today is the birthday of director Herbert Ross, let’s look at one of his best films. A classic of cinema and one of the best rom-coms ever made. Also, if you enjoy You Missed It! please subscribe and share an article. Thanks!

In 1977 Richard Dreyfuss was on-top and coming off of two Spielberg classics, ‘Jaws’ and ‘Close Encounters’. What to do for a follow-up? Moving away from summer blockbusters, he chose a delightful romantic comedy. This is one of the great “date night” films that you might have missed. Snuggle up and enjoy!

‘The Goodbye Girl’ stars Dreyfuss as an actor who has just moved to New York City. He will be starring in an off-broadway production of Richard III. He arrives at his sublet apartment to find it not vacant, but occupied by a just dumped dancer and her young daughter. The woman, played by Marsha Mason, and her precocious daughter, portrayed by a nine year-old Quinn Cummings, are refusing to move out of their home into a rainy night. He wants to move into the unit for which he has paid rent. After some intense, and soggy, negotiations, they agree to share the apartment.

The charisma of Dreyfuss has never been more present than here. It got him the Best Actor Oscar! His portrayal of the just arrived from Chicago actor Elliot Garfield is magnificent. Great timing, wonderful movement and superior acting are on display throughout this delightful rom-com.

As in many rom-coms, the two start off as polar opposites, but end up together. A very unique production of Richard III, Mason’s efforts to return to the stage herself, Quinn Cummings’ wonderful lines all provide the comedy while Dreyfuss and Mason provide the romance.

‘The Goodbye Girl’ owes much to the fine direction of Herbert Ross and the Oscar nominated script by Mason’s husband Neil Simon. Mason and Cummings were both nominated for Oscars as well. But it is the work of Dreyfuss that makes this one of the greats.

After viewing the film consider that Dreyfuss was not the first actor cast as Elliot Garfield. Robert De Niro, fresh off of ‘Taxi Driver’, was hired and fired from the role. To this day I cannot find any comments from De Niro as to why he was let go. However, I do wonder how this film would look with him instead of Dreyfuss? It certainly would not be the same nor improved. ‘The Goodbye Girl’ is available, for free, on Tubi.