Modern Romance

Mr.Popularity Petey. Virtually every line out of his mouth in this movie is a gem, and a good amount of everyone else's. The old man at the phone, "he's there now isn't he, oh please I wasn't born yesterday!" Or Al's brother Dave in the sport shop, "What are you 5'11?", "I misjudged you, go with the box" And the song lyrics on the radio when he's driving around, "She's out of my life", "God only knows what I'd be without you" "And then along comes Mary" And just the true angst that men put themselves through, when the blood rushes to their genitals and they can't think straight, and come up with unfounded jealousy. I just copped the DVD from ebay for 11.98 door to door..... An unsung classic of American cinema and his best work by far......

Trailer—Modern Romance

Modern Romance

Early effort by writer-director-star Albert Brooks is a slimly-budgeted, tiresomely 'with-it' Hollywood comedy about a movie editor unable to get on with his life after a romance with glamorous but aloof Kathryn Harrold falls apart. It would be too easy to label this another "Annie Hall" knock-off, especially as Brooks has some smart ideas in lampooning the business of B-movies; however, an honest comparison between Woody Allen and Brooks does show how one filmmaker can reap timeless comedy and pathos from a failed-affair situation and how another writer-director cannot. There are too few jokes, too much whining, nudity from Harrold that appears to be used for shock value (not for titillation or for humor, which is useless in a comedy), but plenty of Brooks himself--which makes the film a love-it-or-leave-it venture for most mainstream audiences. ** from ****

Man, Albert Brooks is a trip in this movie. He's like the template for George Costanza, pushing his usual neurotic persona to the point of comically unlikable. It's not enough that he has to dog his ex until they get back together, but when she actually relents, he goes into paranoia overload. He's that kind of boyfriend who just won't leave well enough alone. It's almost painful but this is right in the man's wheelhouse, so he makes it funny. And you've gotta feel bad for Kathryn Harrold for putting up with all of this. Also of note here is a put-upon Bruno Kirby and "Super Dave" Osborn as a hustling sporting goods salesman. As awful as Brooks' character is, the movie remains compulsively watchable. 8/10

Very painful to sit through. His character is obnoxious, clingy, smarmy, weak, manipulative, as a man I felt offended by his portrayal. I realize that everyone has different taste but I have never been so baffled as to why people would like something than I am right now. This is billed as a comedy. I didn't laugh once.

If you're an Albert Brooks fan already and you haven't seen this one yet, get set to become an even bigger fan once you do. This ranks with "Lost in America" as one of his two best, and in many ways this takes the prize. It's as funny and painful a view of a dysfunctional person as has ever been put on film in the name of comedy. In other words, it's better than all but the very best of Woody Allen. And that's saying a lot. In fact, Brooks's own persona is more likeable and more identifiable than Woody's--and Kathryn Harrold is unbelievably attractive in the female lead.

Pains me to admit it but I could relate to Albert Brooks' character in parts of this. The swinging back and forth between optimism and despair right after a breakup hit kind of hard. Also: a part late in the film where thin and his sort-of girlfriend sort of argue, and Brooks' character is unable to end it in a way that will leave things fully at peace... that was relatable too. All that said, the most entertaining parts were probably the sequences where Brooks worked as an editor on what looked like a gloriously stupid sci-fi film starring George Kennedy. Overall: it's not perfect, and I think it does owe maybe a bit too much to the kind of movies Woody Allen was making around this time. But I did like a good deal of the humour, and a romantic-comedy that investigates the final stages of a relationship is refreshing, considering most standard romantic-comedies focus on the early days.

MODERN ROMANCE is one of the great unsung film comedies. It's not for everyone, in that the comedy is possibly too close-to-the-bone for people who like their comedy nice and painless. But in the post-Seinfeld era, when Curb Your Enthusiasm is a cult favorite, it is looking more and more like Modern Romance was WAY ahead of its time. Real Life, Lost In America, and Defending Your Life are all great, but for some reason this film stands out to me as Mr. Brooks' greatest cinematic effort. (Stanley Kubrick was a fan, too-- he was trying to make his own film about jealousy, which would end up being EYES WIDE SHUT two decades later.) The real shame is that this film is the only Brooks effort never released on DVD. We can only hope that Criterion might rescue it from oblivion with a nice special edition (with commentary by Brooks!)