Forget Paris

On date 5 November 1998, IMDb user "OffYear" from Chicago wrote:

>Billy Crystal: The poor, stupid man's Woody Allen.

>Crushingly bad. Crystal, having already ripped off 'Annie Hall' with the vastly overrated 'When Harry Met Sally' now rips off the lesser 'Broadway Danny Rose'.

And, on date 13 March 2002, IMDb user "Movie-Robot" from New York agreed:

>The guy here who called Crystal "The poor, stupid man's Woody Allen" has a point.

On the other hand, on date 2 March 2002, "The Movie Buff" from Nyc had written:

>This movie holds the record of earliest advanced screening before being released of all-time, 18 years. The film was shown at an advanced screening back in 77 when it was under the working title ANNIE HALL!!!

Does it mean that Woody Allen, when directing "Broadway Danny Rose", ripped off "Annie Hall"!?

Ok, I apologize to these users, whose comments I found anyway very interesting, and suggested me a point of view I had not taken. That's the point! I was not able to see any unforgivable pillage from Allen's movies.

I think Billy Crystal did not want to Explain The Mystery Of Love neither to portrait New Characters Of Modern Times. This is mostly Allen's trade.

Forget Paris is essentially a light comedy, and Billy Crystal is a brilliant guy. Debra Winger is amiable and graceful and many funny dialogues are as original as unforgettable (as the one when he asks her to marry him).

There is actually a scene which irritated me, the one where they lie by the fireplace, I found it kitch, it does not fit well with the rest. But the movie is a must-see for all lovers of the genre.

What about the soundtrack? Well, it just picks up some of the most beautiful songs by Cole Porter, the Gershwins and some other great american composer. If it is lawful, well, it is a beautiful soundtrack!

There are those comedies that are a good watch once, and that's it. However, there are those few romantic comedies that capture your attention and the humor is able to stay with you for a long time. This is one of those films. Narrated by several of the characters in the film, it has a special quality one can never forget.

From beginning to end, the narrators tell the love story of how the two leads meet, fall in love, and have troubles. Around four or five years is covered in the whole two hour piece. It's comedically written, but then, Crystal is the genius behind that, and it was well executed acting and directing wise.

Anyone who enjoys beautiful cinematography and great lines in a film, you'll enjoy Billy Crystal's "Forget Paris".

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.

For married couples of at least 10 years and/or over 40, this is an entertaining and intelligent movie. Billy Crystal captures the emotions and angst of a certain age and time in one's life, when looking back and forward is done with some trepidation, and the results are, if you're honest, mixed. Put the kids to bed, tell the teenagers you're busy and see this one with your spouse. Well worth the video rental.

Is there a specific reason why Crystal has not directed more often? I'm feeling like starting a petition and sending a copy of this to anyone who would potentially sign it. He, Mantegna, Kavner(the three reasons I gave it the much-deserved chance), Winger and Stevenson are fantastic. Their performances and the timing, spot-on. This is incredibly funny, in the clever, dry, not trying too hard kind of way. The humor does have a few gross moments, however, apart from that, it's all hilarious, if you're into the sarcastic, at times cynical, type of material. Hardly any gags or jokes fall flat, throughout it. It's well-acted, and the characters are good. In addition, it's highly involving, and you find yourself caring, not just laughing, during this. Part of the emotion comes from the honesty of this, that it isn't your usual romantic comedy of "boy who looks like a male model meets female lead who appears to have stepped right off the train from Glamourville", and so on and so forth. This has ups *and* downs, and goes beyond the superficial level of the Hollywood pap that we all know, without forgetting what genre of film it is. The story is imaginative and holds surprises. The writing is top-notch. Do note that this is not for kids, the rating the MPAA gave it makes sense. There is language and themes herein. I recommend this to any fan of anyone who was part of creating it, Billy in particular. 7/10