What happened here?? Take Neil Simon, maybe the most successful playwright alive who has turned many scripts into popular and acclaimed movies; and Hal Ashby, also highly acclaimed director of a diverse group of films. What do you get? It turns out not only to be less than the sum of its parts, but arguably the worst work either man has done.
It wouldn't be much of an argument, either. Filming was done in and around Atlanta and word soon spread that the new picture was a real dud. Word was right. This movie is flatter than 3-day old soda. The main culprit here is Simon. In the past he's been known for his trademark snappy and witty dialog. There's none of that here. The story line is DOA and full of uninteresting, dislikable characters. I'm sure none of the actors involved put this item very high on their resumes, either.
Fortunately Simon recovered from what can only be seen as an aberration. Ashby only made one more film before his death, but thankfully his reputation is built on other, much better work than this.
It wouldn't be much of an argument, either. Filming was done in and around Atlanta and word soon spread that the new picture was a real dud. Word was right. This movie is flatter than 3-day old soda. The main culprit here is Simon. In the past he's been known for his trademark snappy and witty dialog. There's none of that here. The story line is DOA and full of uninteresting, dislikable characters. I'm sure none of the actors involved put this item very high on their resumes, either.
Fortunately Simon recovered from what can only be seen as an aberration. Ashby only made one more film before his death, but thankfully his reputation is built on other, much better work than this.