Much like my viewing of Midnight Run, I had to consistently ask myself "Why isn't Charles Grodin more famous?" while watching The Lonely Guy. As the dowdy Warren Evans he supports star Steve Martin playing Larry Hubbard, a greeting card copywriter recently kicked out of his girlfriend's house and quickly finding himself to be a true Lonely Guy, as the title suggests. Experienced lonely guy Warren helps Larry come to terms with his situation, giving him little tips about how to stay afloat when everything sucks so hard. They do their best to meet women but generally without luck, resorting to plants, pets, and cardboard cutouts to keep themselves company. Eventually Larry meets Iris (Judith Ivey), a frequently-divorced woman who continually pushes him away when she realizes that they're perfect for each other.
This film is based on The Lonely Guy's Book of Life by Bruce Jay Friedman, which is a humorous nonfiction how-to guide, so the story in the movie had to be concocted from scratch while drawing various concepts and passages from the source material. This results in an uneven script, with some really funny and charming moments mixed with a strange, meandering romantic subplot. The character of Iris is grating and unfunny, and the scenes centering on her relationship with Larry are noticably weaker.
The strengths of the script reside in the conversations between Larry and Warren and the observational narration provided by Steve Martin. I loved the self-deprecating humor and slightly surreal small moments, and Martin and Grodin turn in excellent performances. The whole movie is handled with a decided air of whimsy and the cast gives it that off-beat edge. Save for the subplot with Iris, The Lonely Guy is a very cute, slightly odd film that doesn't take itself seriously despite its sad premise.
4/5
Monday, June 28, 2010
The Lonely Guy (1984)
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The strengths of the script reside in the conversations between Larry and Warren and the observational narration provided by Steve Martin. I loved the self-deprecating humor and slightly surreal small moments, and Martin and Grodin turn in excellent performances.
ReplyDeleteI find the acting work here some of the best by either. I even find some subtle nods to Martin's work in Shopgirl, though I might be off about that.
I echo your, "Why isn't Charles Grodin more famous?" It's really so confusing. He's so natural and effortless on scream. He's one of the few actors I want to see MORE rather than less of.