Best Friends is one of my very favorite films that deals with love and relationships.
Goldie Hawn and Burt Reynolds are the 'perfect' "Hollywood" couple in this serio-comic look at the never ending question: Do you marry your best friend, and if so, will they stay your best friend?"
Paula (played by Hawn) and Richard (played by Reynolds) are two of Hollywood's sought after screenwriters and they work very well together. After 3 years, Richard decides that he wants to marry his live-in Paula, but Paula has been hesitant because "marriage changes everything". To Paula, everything is fine as is. How interesting that it's the man that wants a long term commitment, and the woman doesn't!
After convincing, Paula marries Richard, but in the worst way possible - she chooses a "walk in chapel" out of the phone book and the ceremony is done barely in English. Next, the biggest problem facing the newlyweds is that neither has seen or spent any time with each others parents, and they decide to visit each of them and spring the news that they got married in person.
They trek on a "cross country journey" in true a Hollywood Screenwriters fantasy - via a cramped, small train to visit Paula's parent's first in Buffalo and then Richard's in Virginia. The parents are not what each envision, they are totally different and somewhat weird on occasion. Needless to say, each set of parents and their families have Paula and Richard questioning what kind of person they actually married.
Also thrown into the middle of this, is that Paula and Richard are working on a screenplay that needs revision after revision. The Producer they are working with (played by Ron Silver) is the epitome of Hollywood Producers - he will say and act however he can - from lying about his child that may or may not exist to finally making real adult decisions - to get his movie done. What makes matters worse is that Paula and Richard have a total breakdown during their trip so the script revisions aren't done by a very tight shooting deadline.
You don't have to know much about Hollywood screen writing to see that this is a story about two people who love each other, but worked so hard that they didn't have time to let anybody else in. They seemed to be compatible, they've known each other for 5 years total - 2 years and then lived together for 3 - who didn't really know each other at all. What they are learning is that their life does not fit into a neatly written screenplay format as they have obviously lived and controlled. And now that their life play has been re-written/revised, can their relationship endure?
I would not say this is a total chick flick, nor is it an adrenaline flowing male romp. It is about two 'best friends' and their paths into real world adulthood and long term commitment.
Goldie Hawn and Burt Reynolds are the 'perfect' "Hollywood" couple in this serio-comic look at the never ending question: Do you marry your best friend, and if so, will they stay your best friend?"
Paula (played by Hawn) and Richard (played by Reynolds) are two of Hollywood's sought after screenwriters and they work very well together. After 3 years, Richard decides that he wants to marry his live-in Paula, but Paula has been hesitant because "marriage changes everything". To Paula, everything is fine as is. How interesting that it's the man that wants a long term commitment, and the woman doesn't!
After convincing, Paula marries Richard, but in the worst way possible - she chooses a "walk in chapel" out of the phone book and the ceremony is done barely in English. Next, the biggest problem facing the newlyweds is that neither has seen or spent any time with each others parents, and they decide to visit each of them and spring the news that they got married in person.
They trek on a "cross country journey" in true a Hollywood Screenwriters fantasy - via a cramped, small train to visit Paula's parent's first in Buffalo and then Richard's in Virginia. The parents are not what each envision, they are totally different and somewhat weird on occasion. Needless to say, each set of parents and their families have Paula and Richard questioning what kind of person they actually married.
Also thrown into the middle of this, is that Paula and Richard are working on a screenplay that needs revision after revision. The Producer they are working with (played by Ron Silver) is the epitome of Hollywood Producers - he will say and act however he can - from lying about his child that may or may not exist to finally making real adult decisions - to get his movie done. What makes matters worse is that Paula and Richard have a total breakdown during their trip so the script revisions aren't done by a very tight shooting deadline.
You don't have to know much about Hollywood screen writing to see that this is a story about two people who love each other, but worked so hard that they didn't have time to let anybody else in. They seemed to be compatible, they've known each other for 5 years total - 2 years and then lived together for 3 - who didn't really know each other at all. What they are learning is that their life does not fit into a neatly written screenplay format as they have obviously lived and controlled. And now that their life play has been re-written/revised, can their relationship endure?
I would not say this is a total chick flick, nor is it an adrenaline flowing male romp. It is about two 'best friends' and their paths into real world adulthood and long term commitment.