The Goodbye Girl

If you are after a comedy that actually makes you laugh out loud, The Goodbye Girl is available in Australia on HBO Max, and in the US on Hoopla right now. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. 186 people have weighed in on TMDB, and the verdict leans heavily positive. Richard Dreyfuss is the obvious draw, but the whole ensemble earns its laughs. Start it on HBO Max whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

The Goodbye Girl arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. The Goodbye Girl gets the fundamentals right first, then finds room to get weird with it. 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. Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1977. What keeps The Goodbye Girl from feeling disposable is a cast that clearly understands the material better than the format usually demands. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

The Goodbye Girl is the kind of thing you put on in the background and end up fully watching. It has built its own audience without needing a direct comparison. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Richard Dreyfuss is funny in a way that holds up on rewatch. Put it on when you need something guaranteed to land.