Barfuß im Park

I would recommend this movie to anyone for its simplicity. Though simple and quiet, this movie is stunning. The situation of a young married couple played out almost entirely in their one bedroom apartment adds to this movies basic plot. The nonchalant attitude of a newly married man and his very emotionally free wife is quite exciting. I would normally ask for a lot more from a movie, but in "Barefoot in the Park" it is not needed. The superb acting of both Robert Redford and Jane Fonda leave you stoked for the thrilling dialogs that take place between the couple. There is an abundance of humor. The movie simply leaves you feeling casual in a very glamorous world.

This is a superb comedy with a perfect dream of a script and the comedy is genuinely funny. It's one of those rare movies where you can get a real belly laugh. The plot has been very well described by others. Fonda is great and its a pity she did not do more farce because she is perfect and she gives it all shes got. Redford never looked sexier and its impossible not to fall head over heals in love with him. Charles Boyer is superb and the scene when he takes the young lovers and the mother to that incredible restaurant is hilarious. The real scene stealer is Mildred Natwick who is unforgettable. She will have you in stitches. Her under play is brilliant and its a performance I have never forgotten. Why she never got an Oscar for this is beyond me because its the most perfect performance. Natwick was one of America's finest actors and she is deeply missed. Whatever she did she did with distinction. Proof there are no small parts.What a classy lady! You will love this movie but you will never forget Natwick.

You won't roll on the floor laughing but you won't be sorry you spent 90 minutes with the characters on-screen. Very light and easy to take, brought to a nice level of fun by some very talented actors. Mildred Natwick earned her Oscar nomination; I wonder why Charles Boyer didn't get one, too. Fonda & Redford are both so young its hard to remember they were ever that age.

I lived in a walk-up apartment in Manhattan (fifth floor!)and had to quit smoking so I wouldn't have to have an oxygen tank installed on each floor in order to just make it home every night. I enjoyed reading the 'trivia' section about this movie and find it very interesting that the French version had to change the running joke to the 9th floor; since they are also infamous for smoking, one wonders why elevators were not more popular.

I must have seen it five times. What a delightful movie, so gentle, so understanding of human nature, so devoid of vulgarity or hard edges. Neil Simon is a jewel. He has single-handedly rescued American cinema from total mediocrity since the mid-sixties. Yes, he has had some weak scripts, but when he's bad, he is never terribly bad. I am glad that as good a writer is so successful. The cream does rise to the top, - once in a million years. Seeing this movie should be mandatory for any couple considering divorce. It shows how silly fights are. Too bad it didn't save Simon's own marriage.

Boyer is priceless as an eccentric bohemian. Everyone is inspired by the script and delivers his or his best performance. Simon makes happiness seem possible, because he knows where it's hiding.

Redford and Fonda should get a kissy-face Oscar for the most lingering lip-smackers on movie record.

The comedy's premise reminds me of one of those WWII madcaps, where wartime conditions prompt an unlikely couple into quick marriage and barebones apartment. The idea's rich in comedic material so no wonder it keeps coming back. On their honeymoon, stodgy lawyer husband (Redford) is overwhelmed by sexy free-spirited wife (Fonda). She can't get enough kissy-face or sex, while he struggles between lawyerly duties and a burgeoning libido. Meanwhile, she oozes over their cramped apartment, six long flights up, while he's too smothered over to object. Things bumble along until complications take their toll.

I love it when goofy neighbor Boyer takes the married couple and Fonda's straight-laced mother (Natwick) to a run-down Albanian eatery. It may be seedy on the outside but on the inside it's a vibrant bohemian paradise. Of course, Fonda and Boyer are in their element, real swingers, while the two conventional types can barely endure. In fact, Redford's quiet discomfort as he sits at the noisy round table amounts to a triumph of low-key expression. And catch it when the belly dancer smothers his unhappy face in her ample breasts. Edelman also scores as the drooping telephone guy. It's like, time and again, he's having to climb Mt. Everest with a heavy load. In fact, the movie milks that 6-long-flights-up, but still gets laughs from a sweaty cast. I can imagine what the auditions were like.

Anyway, the movie's first two-thirds is full of such inventive comedic moments that had me thinking "real classic". But then, much too abruptly, Fonda's sparkly role shifts and the prevailing mood goes with it. Same thing with Redford's conventional personality. That is, he goes from stodgy to goofy and she goes from ditzy to crabby. In short, they suddenly swap roles in unconvincing fashion, even for what is now a serio-comedy. In my book, the change over is too clumsily handled to maintain comedic momentum, and a potential classic is lost. Nonetheless, on balance, the movie's still lively entertainment, full of bright moments, and worth catching up with.

(In passing- I suspect the moral to the story, if such can be said, is that without some common ground even the best offbeat relationship can't last.)