The Goodbye Girl (1977)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Elliot Garfield	Richard Dreyfuss
Paula McFadden	Marsha Mason	½
Lucy McFAdden	Quinn Cummings	½
Mark	Paul Benedict	½
Donna	Barbara Rhoades
Mrs. Crosby	Theresa Merritt
Rhonda	Patricia Pearcy
Oliver Fry	Nicol Williamson

Review

Sally Field lookalike Marsha Mason and her 10-year-old daughter is abandoned by their actor partner/stepdad, only for another self-important actor (Richard Dreyfuss) to move in with a sublease contract in hand. Quippy bickering turns to inevitable romance in predictable fashion, but screenwriter Neil Simon is able to give the story so much zest and intellectual candy along the way, which coupled with Dreyfuss' brilliant, living-breathing performance makes the film a joy to watch. His Henry III is hilarious, and so are several of his other antics. Elliot Garfield is a brilliantly conceived movie character. Unfortunately, Paula McFadden is far closer to stock material from which Marsha Mason isn't quite able to elevate her. But the culminating romance, albeit largely asexual, invigorates her. All three leads were Oscar nominated, with Dreyfuss winning, his one and only Academy Award.