Customer Reviews

Girl Friends [VHS]

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Wonderful character study of a young woman alone for the first time, after her roomate gets married. Miss Mayron is a fabulous actress with alot of heart....I tried to rent this movie for over a year, but could never find it ....so finally bought it. I was not disapointed.....Melanie Mayron's performance stays with you...A simple story of a woman in New York and her journey through life.....making choices for the first time on her own...a beauitful story, a wonderful and honest actress...I love it....a bit dated....but Melanie shines all the way.....

When Susan's roommate & best friend Anne suddenly gets married, Susan is on her own for the first time in her life, having to negotiate the intricacies of a whole new world. Which is an accurate capsule summary of this superb first film from director Claudia Weill, but hardly begins to do it justice. No less than Stanley Kubrick called "Girlfriends" his favorite film of 1978, and it's not hard to see why. There's a freshness & vivid slice-of-life quality to every frame, perhaps revealing Weill's previous work as a documentary filmmaker. Nothing feels scripted or formulaic, and from beginning to end, I had no idea of where the story might go next.

Much of the credit must go to Melanie Mayron, who brings Susan to life so engagingly. What a difference from the usual generic "beautiful girl" of so many American films! She's no model, but she's far more genuinely beautiful & touchingly human than the endless string of starlets du jour. Her expressive face brims with intelligence, curiosity, loveliness, vulnerability, pain, and unexpected glimpses of joy. As she struggles to make a life for herself, one that includes both love & meaningful work as a photographer, we empathize with her every step of the way.

I wouldn't call this dated in the least. Certainly it's of its time, and provides a wonderful window into another era, just as convincingly as actual news footage might. But the issues of Susan's day-to-day life, the complexities of romance & creativity, and especially the exploration of female friendship -- all this is always timely. The fashions & accessories may be from the 1970s, but Susan is more real & up-to-date than the plastic, mass-produced role models offered to young women today. And you'll remember her long after those cookie-cutter role models have been rightfully forgotten. Most highly recommended!