With a poll coming up on IMDbs Classic Film board for the best titles of 1984 I started to search around in my DVD folders,and I spotted a Steve Martin film which appeared to be really over looked,which led to me getting ready to find out how lonely things could be.
The plot:
Getting thrown out by his girlfriend Danielle, Larry Hubbard finds himself joining a growing part of society called "The lonely guy" which is men/women who don't have any friend/family/partner and spend all their time completely on their own.Meeting fellow lonely guy Warren Evans,Hubbard starts getting into the lonely guy lifestyle,from buying a plant who he can talk to,to getting cardboard cut-outs of celebrities who he can "invite" round for parties.Whilst Evans accepts his place in society,Hubbard decides that he must try to be the lonely guy who loses his loneliness.
View on the film:
In the first half of their adaptation of Bruce Jay Friedman's novel The Lonely Guy's Book of Life,writers Neil Simon/Stan Daniels & Ed. Weinberger give the screenplay a witty,fast-pace sketch Comedy outline,with Hubbard learning the lonely guy lifestyle step by step,from pretending to be a food critic in order to eat on his own,to buying "lonely sweat" in the hope of catching the eyes of a lonely girl.Whilst the second half's focus on Hubbard's attempts to get out of the lifestyle does lead to the film slowing down,the writers make sure to keep the laughs rolling with a jet-black Comedy edge,which goes from lonely guys all using the same suicide bridge,to a lonely howl on the rooftops.
Given a misty Fantasy backdrop by director Arthur Hiller,Steve Martin gives an excellent performance as Larry Hubbard,with Martin making sure that no matter how left-field Hubbard's antics are,that Hubbard is always grounded with a desire to get rid of his loneliness.Joining Martin, Charles Grodin gives a hilarious performance as Warren Evans,who Grodin shows to be extremely uncomfortable in his own skin,whilst the pretty Judith Ivey gives some sassy charm as Iris,as Hubbard discovers how lonely things can get.
The plot:
Getting thrown out by his girlfriend Danielle, Larry Hubbard finds himself joining a growing part of society called "The lonely guy" which is men/women who don't have any friend/family/partner and spend all their time completely on their own.Meeting fellow lonely guy Warren Evans,Hubbard starts getting into the lonely guy lifestyle,from buying a plant who he can talk to,to getting cardboard cut-outs of celebrities who he can "invite" round for parties.Whilst Evans accepts his place in society,Hubbard decides that he must try to be the lonely guy who loses his loneliness.
View on the film:
In the first half of their adaptation of Bruce Jay Friedman's novel The Lonely Guy's Book of Life,writers Neil Simon/Stan Daniels & Ed. Weinberger give the screenplay a witty,fast-pace sketch Comedy outline,with Hubbard learning the lonely guy lifestyle step by step,from pretending to be a food critic in order to eat on his own,to buying "lonely sweat" in the hope of catching the eyes of a lonely girl.Whilst the second half's focus on Hubbard's attempts to get out of the lifestyle does lead to the film slowing down,the writers make sure to keep the laughs rolling with a jet-black Comedy edge,which goes from lonely guys all using the same suicide bridge,to a lonely howl on the rooftops.
Given a misty Fantasy backdrop by director Arthur Hiller,Steve Martin gives an excellent performance as Larry Hubbard,with Martin making sure that no matter how left-field Hubbard's antics are,that Hubbard is always grounded with a desire to get rid of his loneliness.Joining Martin, Charles Grodin gives a hilarious performance as Warren Evans,who Grodin shows to be extremely uncomfortable in his own skin,whilst the pretty Judith Ivey gives some sassy charm as Iris,as Hubbard discovers how lonely things can get.