Best Friends (1982)

Best Friends (1982) (DVD) (*)

~~$20.99~~ $17.98

Screened, competed or awarded at:
Golden Globes
Oscar Academy Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Spanish ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Spanish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Spain ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
104 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1982 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Norman Jewison

Written By:
Valerie Curtin
Barry Levinson

Actors:
Burt Reynolds ..... Richard Babson
Goldie Hawn ..... Paula McCullen
Jessica Tandy ..... Eleanor McCullen
Barnard Hughes ..... Tim McCullen
Audra Lindley ..... Ann Babson
Keenan Wynn ..... Tom Babson
Ron Silver ..... Larry Weisman
Carol Locatell ..... Nellie Ballou
Richard Libertini ..... Jorge Medina
Peggy Walton-Walker ..... Carol Brandon
Noah Hathaway ..... Lyle Ballou
Mikey Martin ..... Robbie Ballou
Helen Page Camp ..... Maid
Joan Pringle ..... Doria
Vincent J. Isaac ..... Cab Driver

Synopsis:

We'd rather not speculate over how much of Best Friends is autobiographical. We'll just note that this story of a male-female screenwriting team was written by real-life married scenarists Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin. Lovers as well as collaborators, scriveners Richard Babson (Burt Reynolds) and Paula McCullen (Goldie Hawn) decide to make their union legal. Predictably enough, they discover that their relationship goes straight downhill after they say 'I do.' The stars are far less interesting than the supporting cast, including Jessica Tandy and Barnard Hughes as Hawn's parents, Audra Lindley and Keenan Wynn as Reynolds' folks, Ron Silver as an avaricious producer (no names, please!), and Richard Libertini as a Mexican justice of the peace.

Richard Babson and Paula McCullen are a couple of Hollywood screenwriters who have lived and worked together for a number of years. Richard would like to get married, but Paula doesn't feel the need. Having just written a film script for producer Larry Weissman, the couple decides to get married without letting anyone else know. Paula can tell it is important to Richard, so she reluctantly agrees. They are wed in a downtown Los Angeles marriage bureau by a man named Jorge Medina in barely understandable English. For a honeymoon trip, they travel cross-country by train to inform their parents back East about what they have just done. The first stop is Buffalo, New York, where they are met in a winter snowstorm by Paula's parents. Eleanor and Tim McCullen are old-fashioned, so Paula informs Richard that they will need to sleep in separate beds. Richard isn't happy about being treated like a child, or about the frigid climate and the constantly open window. From there they go to Virginia to visit Richard's parents, who reside in a giant high-rise condominium. No window is ever opened there, and Paula, feeling increasing panic attacks, is in dire need of some fresh air. She also accidentally overdoses on Valium and goes face-first into a salad at lunch. The Babsons excitedly believe that Paula and Richard are engaged but devastated to learn that they are already married. They throw a party at a restaurant, where Paula is upset by the comments of guests. She and Richard are barely on speaking terms when Larry Weissman shows up, desperate for pages of a script rewrite. Paula insists that they return home to California immediately, but once there, their personal and professional relationship has soured. Larry locks them in a room, where the writers bicker and get no work done. Paula again demands fresh air until Richard breaks a window. When they finally talk it through, they are in agreement that getting married might not have been the best idea. They finish the rewrite and then walk off into the sunset, which turns out to be a Hollywood prop.

When a professional couple who have lived and worked together for many years finally decide to marry, their sudden betrothal causes many unexpectedly funny and awkward difficulties. They soon find that being married is often quite different from being 'best friends.'

This product was added to our catalog on Sunday 20 November, 2011.

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