Forget Paris

This movie is interesting and unique, in the sense that it focuses on love AFTER marriage, and not before.

Billy Crystal plays a basketball referee who travels to Paris in order to bury his recently-deceased father. However alone the way the casket is lost and he's stuck in Paris, where he meets another single woman (Debra Winger) who's under similarly unfortunate circumstances.

They go out, have a fun time, and then resume their normal lives. Crystal goes back to basketball in the US but soon finds he can't concentrate and keeps thinking about his relationship.

Eventually they reunite and get married but it's an uphill struggle.

The movie kind of reminded me of "GoodFellas" (!) due to its structure and how it focused on the downfall of the marriage. Like Ray Liotta's marriage in "GoodFellas" it's not all peachy like most Hollywood films portray them as being.

My favorite sequence is when Crystal is transporting his semen to a hospital and gets stopped by a traffic cop. Some very funny moments like this, as well as good chemistry between the stars and an interesting narrative structure, make it a worthwhile - if not particularly memorable - romantic comedy, better than many others in its genre. At least it's entertaining and believable.

FORGET Paris is a sweet romantic comedy which Billy Crystal made after his best romantic comedy, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY. This time, though, it is Debra Winger rather than Meg Ryan who is opposite him. But Winger does nicely in the Ryan part and Crystal does nicely too.

Crystal is a basketball referee who is accompanying his father's dead body to Normandy for burial. The airline sends the body to Switzerland accidentally, and Winger is the airline official who smooths Crystal's ruffled feathers. She even attends the funeral, and soon the two of them are exploring the sites of Paris together. They get on well, but Crystal has to return to the U.S. But he returns and proposes marriage. After an initial delay, Winger accepts the proposal, and we watch the resulting marriage.

It is an intensely felt love affair, but it isn't smooth. She does not like losing her high paying job in Paris to return to the U.S., nor that he is going around the country most of the time as a referee at games. He tries to work at a different job, and finds her father (William Hickey) driving him batty with his senility (he keeps repeating the Toyota automobile slogan from the 1990s). And there are more serious problems about infertility, including a funny routine when Crystal is repeatedly delayed running to a fertility clinic.

The story of their love affair and marriage is related by Joe Mantegna, Richard Masur, Julie Kavner, and John Spencer, at a dinner party in an Italian restaurant. The personalities and marriage situations of the friends of our hero and heroine get exposed too during the dinner. All of the friends give good performances as does Hickey and Robert Constanza as the world's most philosophically charming waiter. Listen to him describing various drinks.

The film is a feel good movie, and does well as such.

I have genuinely loved this movie! I've seen it many times, I rewatch it every time I need something sweet to soothe my soul...realistic, romantic, funny! Plus...let's NOT forget Paris...seeing the beautiful city really adds up to the movie charm! If you ever come across this one and aren't sure if it's worth watching, I hope my review will help you to just leave everything aside and press 'play'! Beautiful romantic comedy!

I wanted to like this. It does not shirk from showing the real difficulties marriage has - or the anti-climax marriage can prove after the romance of courtship.

I also applaud its realism - many matters don't prove right in the end in real life - nor in this movie - no matter how much they try. Reconciliations fade in light of fundamental issues that exist from the beginning of the marriage.

However, as comedy, the movie usually seemed lame - it had its moments but they were too few. And as drama, there weren't enough moments of real suspense. As a romance, it fails - it's too realistic and I never felt any magic in Debra Winger's character. She was fairly nice, fairly attractive, but rather humdrum in personality. We are taken down a lane familiar to married couples - with all the aggravations real life produces and an occasional chuckle.

The movie is the rather tedious alternative to "happily ever after" - and though the movie rings more truly than "happily ever after",it's not as satisfying. Very little would be needed to darken this movie into "An Unmarried Woman". I preferred Mr. Saturday Night for its dark look at the life of a Milton Berle sort of character - at least it was unfamiliar and interesting territory - this isn't. I do wish I could say otherwise and again think well of Crystal in one respect: he doesn't sugarcoat his tale.

Multi talented Billy Crystal directed and wrote the screen play with Lowell Ganz. This comedy has its sad moments but even in tragedy this movie can be very funny. The cast in superb. Mickey Gordon, played by Crystal is a referee (When Harry met Sally, The Princess Bride) who has to go to Paris because his father wanted to be buried in France. The airline mishandled the corpse of his father. By the way this is a Tort in the US he could have gotten a lot of money because of that. He then meets Ellen Andrews, Debra Winger (An Officer and a Gentlemen, Terms of Endearment) who works for the airline. The story is told in a very creative fashion using a group of friends which meets in a restaurant and each tells part of the story. It starts with one couple and more friends keep coming and they do not know whether Mickey and Elle will show up and whether they are still together. Nice story telling! Just look at the names: Joe Mantegna (Up Close & Personal) is Andy; Cynthia Stevenson is Liz, Richard Masur (none other than the director of SAG himself) is Craig; Julie Kavner (Jake's Women, This is my Life) is Lucy who is on diet; William Hickey (I) is Arthur; Robert Costanzo, is the witty waiter his very funny lines; John Spencer (I) is Jack; Tom Wright (I) is Tommy; Cathy Moriarty is Lois; Johnny Williams (I) is Lou. Then there are all the athletes one can come up with. The Lady who plays the organ is so stuffy and funny! She loves to live in Paris, but she has follow her husband who is always traveling. I have seem this happen to many people.They tried to compromise but it does not work at all. Her father comes to live with them and that created more tension. Funny lines: " you asked for it, you got it Toyota!".

My favorite scenes: them driving around Paris; the bird glued to her face; when she shows up at the game and at the restaurant. I liked the movie. The music is nice. It made me laugh. I recommend it, it is an enjoyable movie.