10 New York Romantic Comedies

The Goodbye Girl (1977)

image from IMDB

Neil Simon is a New York institution. He may not have had the talent of Woody Allen, but he had all the success and more. His string of Broadway hits is legendary, with 17 Tony nominations, a Pulitzer nomination, and such well-known titles as The Odd Couple, Barefoot in the Park, and the semi-autobiographical “Eugene Trilogy” of Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and Broadway Bound. While never garnering the critical reputation of some of his peers, his financial dependability was unquestionable, with many of his plays going on to be hit films as well.

Barefoot in the Park, starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, is one of the most well-known New York romantic comedies in film history, but my personal favorite of his movies is The Goodbye Girl. Starring Richard Dreyfuss as a struggling actor, and Marsha Mason as the downtrodden woman he is forced to live with, The Goodbye Girl is fun, cute, and oddly timeless. Its look at the New York theater world still feels current, with its struggling actors, pretentious directors, and frustratingly stupid Shakespeare adaptations.

The Goodbye Girl doesn’t have any scene as well-known as Barefoot in the Park’s eponymous Washington-Park romp, but while its shots have no famous landmarks, they feel much more genuine – with people walking and shopping along the streets of the familiar city.