Post by StevePulaski on Mar 1, 2017 0:13:48 GMT -5
The Lonely Guy (1984)
Directed by: Arthur Hiller
Directed by: Arthur Hiller
Steve Martin is a lonely guy in The Lonely Guy.
Rating: ★★½
Arthur Hiller's The Lonely Guy is about a hair away from being a very funny satire on "nice guys," but at the same time, it's remarkably pretty inoffensive despite giving one of the most cloying kinds of men a platform, even if it's a satirical one, for an upwards of ninety minutes.
Urban Dictionary defines a "nice guy," kind of hilariously, as "a young male who will give up countless hours of his time listening to the problems of his very attractive female friends because they need someone to talk to about their apathetic, Baywatch jock of a boyfriend because no one else will listen or genuinely care. Although always surrounded by beautiful girls the nice guy can’t get a girlfriend or even facilitate the alleviation of certain “drives” because his “ordinary” physical appearance will forever be compared to the Baywatch beach bum’s." There's more but it's best to stop before such a definition goes on to engulf the entire review.
The main criticism for "nice guys," or, in this case, "lonely guys," is that they often expect sexual favors from their female friends in response to basic human kindness. Part of the issue stems from a lack of valuable communication of feelings between two parties, and the other likely from narcissism and entitlement on behalf of the man. The general rule of thumb is that if you shouldn't have to call yourself a "nice guy" if you truly are one or perhaps if you've gotten defensive or even offended by reading any of the information offered, you're likely a "nice guy" in the classical, contemptible sense.
Back on track, however. Hiller's The Lonely Guy is based off the book A Lonely Guy's Book of Life by Bruce Jay Friedman, essentially a satirical glossary and self-help book about dateless wonders who cannot keep, or for that matter get, a woman to save their lives. The story focuses on Larry Hubbard (Steve Martin), a greeting card writer who comes home one day to find his girlfriend Danielle (Robyn Douglass) in bed with her suave dance-partner. He actually doesn't notice her and him making out at first, for he's too preoccupied with himself, going on to strip down to his underwear to climb in bed with them (despite it being like 1pm in the afternoon). Danielle then laments about how her boyfriend won't even be outraged to find her with another man and that's when at least I knew what kind of film I was dealing with.
The Lonely Guy is one of those films with which you must get on board early, for if the half-hour mark passes and you're still lost in translation or confused by the film's tone, you're going to remain hopelessly lost. Upon becoming a single "lonely guy," Larry goes on to befriend a fellow lonely guy named Warren (Charles Grodin), who is far more depressed than he is. Warren frequently contemplates suicide due to crippling and agonizing loneliness, but hey, Larry's momentary bout of being single is grounds to eclipse whatever kind of depression from which Warren is suffering.
Larry eventually finds Iris (Judith Ivey), who looks to be something of a keeper. She writes her name and phone-number on a napkin only for Larry to wipe his face with it shortly after she leaves. He then spends most of the following day trying to decipher not only her phone-number, but her name.
The Lonely Guy can be a fairly lame movie, but Steve Martin finds ways to keep it and his schtick entertaining. The satire element on loneliness and the need for courtship in a world that seems to make single men and women feel ostracized is pretty lukewarm, but I found myself getting on this film's comic wavelength more than I initially anticipated after the whole bedroom scene with Larry and Danielle. Director Arthur Hiller, a real master at finding the right tone for all his comedies, pleasantly keeps this one at bay by never letting it get too consumed by manic or overzealous sensibilities, resulting in a movie that's infrequently sweet and sporadically entertaining. This is all something that you find yourself being impressed by when it comes to a comedy from the 1980s that only feels dated in an aesthetic sense.
Starring: Steve Martin, Charles Grodin, Judith Ivey, and Robyn Douglass. Directed by: Arthur Hiller.