Better Late Then Never

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Writing team Charles Shyer and Nancy Meyers scored a bullseye with IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES, a surprisingly smart and amusing comedy that blended the family dysfunction comedy with the "inside Hollywood" type of comedy and the results is quite entertaining. Our story begins with 10-year old KC Brotzky (Drew Barrymore)arriving in a Los Angeles courtroom where she is suing for emancipation from her divorced parents,filmmakers Albert and Lucy Brotzky (Ryan O'Neal and Shelley Long). The film then flashes back to the beginning of Albert and Lucy's relationship,showcasing the first smash hit film they made together, followed by another film during which Albert has an affair with the leading lady (Sharon Stone,very funny in one of her earliest roles)and how the making of this film tore Albert and Lucy apart. Albert and his new love then make a "Gone With the Wind"-type spectacular that bombs at the box office and things just go from bad to worse with poor little KC caught in the middle and tired of being a bargaining chip between her parents. O'Neal delivers what is probably the best performance of his career and Long is a good match for him. Aided by a deft screenplay, O'Neal, Long, and Barrymore deliver a nearly forgotten gem here which delivers warm family laughs and takes accurate potshots at Hollywood as well.

I originally saw this movie in 1985 with my kids and of course, we loved it! We were living in India at the time and videos were our only link to American culture. Fortunatley we had a copy (no comment). We probably saw it 30 or 40 times over the years. When Blake starts singing during the scene in the Gone With The Wind take off, Atlanta, I have tears rolling down my cheeks. Later in the film you see the heartbreaking reality of many a child's life growing up in Hollywood. Money aplenty but no quality time with family. The premise is so sad and Drew Barrymore is so poignant - truly showed what a talented kid she was and sadly she seems to have been living very much the same way her character was in the film. Finally, I too, would join in campaign to get this out on DVD! Why hasn't it been released? Could it be the heights to which Sharon Stone rose on the stardom scale? Who knows but if you ever have a chance to see this movie, clear your schedule and sit down and watch it.

Drew Barrymore is probably one of the youngest actresses to receive a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in this film. This role came after her ET fame, remember her as little Gertie. Pity the other stars in that Spielberg film never became the household name that surprisingly that Drew has accomplished. She has got quite a pedigree with the Barrymore legacy. Despite her personal problems, Drew really is a solid actress with a lifetime behind her. Anyway, I never saw this film until Sunday. I remember it being out but I have to say when I was 11 years old, I wanted to be Drew Barrymore (that was before I knew what happened to her). So I guess, I didn't watch it out of envy. I like the casting of Shelley Long who is probably one of the greatest female comediennes of our time who never gets enough work in my opinion to let her talents shine. She can do both drama and comedy equally well. She combines them both in this role as a desperate housewife turned writer. I like the way the film is set up with blame on both father and mother. Sharon Stone debuts in this film too. Ryan O'Neal is worth mentioning because I don't think he was acting in this film. It just hit too close to home. SO you want a good comedy from the eighties, this is pretty good. It's probably a classic compared to contemporary comedy that has become both vulgar and profane.

Being a media graduate, I've seen a LOT of films and I can safely say this is one of the best. And yet NO-ONE, not even the most self-professed movie geek, has heard of it! It's such a Sunday afternoon movie that you would have thought more people would have stumbled across it and slowly fell in love with it. Whenever I want to feel all warm and fuzzy or have a good cry, I switch on this film and my family know to leave the room! All the leading stars, especially the cute little Drew Barrymore and Sharon Stone in her first starring role, are flawless and the script is top notch! More people should see this film.