Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Lonely Guy: Striking the balance between funny and touching, August 16, 2005
As you might expect, Steve Martin's "Lonely Guy" is somewhat over-the-top. Martin plays Larry Hubbard, an aspiring writer whose "perfect" New York City life quickly unravels when he comes home to find his girlfriend in bed with another man. This is Hubbard's introduction to the world of Lonely Guys, men who have nobody and nothing to live for.
On the surface, this premise sounds like one that should degenerate into glurge--that is, sappy sentiment with no real meaning or purpose. While some aspects of "The Lonely Guy" threaten to do just that, there is more than enough here that is clever, original, and poignant. Martin plays the familiar "nice guy", adding just enough quirks to make Larry Hubbard original and enough emotion to make the viewer care about him.
The supporting cast is, for the most part, just as strong. Martin's best friend, Warren (Charles Grodin), is a depressed character that reminds one of how Woody Allen might be if he were more of a normal human being. Again, just the right balance is struck between idiosyncraticity and realism. Memorable scenes here include a chess game between Warren and a computerized crane hand and a sequence on the Manhattan Bridge involving several desolate Lonely Guys as well as the movie's heroes.
The second half of the movie is slightly weaker than the first, only because it seems to involve the same note played over and over. After Larry finally meets the girl of his dreams, Iris (Judith Ivey), she alternately courts him and pushes him away out of fear of losing him. This plotline continually repeats instead of going anywhere, and Larry's continued involvement with his girl seems dependent on far too many coincidental meetings. However, there are still a fair number of funny moments in this part of the film. Most memorable is a scene in an upscale restaurant, in which Larry attempts to dine alone, much to the chagrin of the waiter and other guests.
The film's ending is weaker than it could have been, although happy, because of this less-than-strong relationship arc. However, Larry's dedication to Iris is touching and beliveable, carrying the film forward to its somewhat predictable conclusion.
A must-see for anyone who has been lonely and who would rather laugh than stay depressed.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absolute gem for the Lonely Guy in all of us, September 11, 2005
This is one of my favorite movies. Not really because it is the most entertaining one I have ever seen, or even one of the funniest. I love it because it is one of the most identifiable films of all time. I would venture a guess that every single person reading this over the age of 15 or so has been without a significant other for at least a couple weeks at a time or more. In that case, you WILL find things that you can identify with in this movie, and laugh at every single one of them. If you have been one of those unlucky people who have been alone for a year or more at a time and have never seen this movie, you owe it to yourself to check it out, it could become your favorite movie too.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
He's just a wild and lonely guy, February 4, 2006
While The Lonely Guy is first and foremost a comedy, one that descends into comic incredulity on a number of occasions, it really hits a few solid line drives in terms of the lonely guy angle. Steve Martin may be the star of this film, but Charles Grodin steals every scene he's in. He's the true lonely guy in this movie. Larry Hubbard, Martin's character, is really just a guy with really bad luck with women. After coming home to find his current girlfriend in bed with another man, Hubbard finds himself out on the street, struggling to get his bearings. That's where Warren Evans (Grodin) comes in. Warren really knows the ropes when it comes to loneliness, so he is more than qualified to instruct Hubbard in the art of living and being alone. Not all that much later, Larry meets up with Iris (Judith Ivey), a woman who tickles his fancy despite the fact she's been married more times than Larry has fingers on one hand, isn't all that attractive, is obviously lying through her teeth when she says she's thirty, and turns out to be something of a romantic psycho. Larry, of course, loses her phone number, beginning a whole series of misadventures serving to keep the two apart. Once he does meet up with Iris again, the world's most dysfunctional relationship begins. Iris, to grossly oversimplify things, doesn't want to be with a man she loves because she's afraid of being hurt again. All sorts of zany adventures ensue.
But what of Warren? Here's the guy I can identify with. While regular people are out having fun, Warren's playing chess with a sarcastic computer. He has life-size cut-outs of famous people all over the apartment so that it looks like someone is actually there when he throws a little party. He's a shell of a man who is never far from joining throngs of other lonely guys throwing themselves off the bridge downtown. Charles Grodin is just wonderful in this role. I must admit, though, that the two best scenes feature Martin. In one, we see him so desperate to find Iris again that he ends up going to the rooftop and shouting her name - only to be joined by lonely guys on all the nearby rooftops shouting the names of their own lost beloveds. In the other, we watch as Larry suffers the indignities of dining out alone. As he enters the restaurant, heads turn to stare as all conversation stops, and then a spotlight comes on following Larry all the way to his table. That's exactly what dining alone feels like.
The film ended up being a little sillier than I would have liked, particularly in terms of the relationship between Larry and Iris, and putting Steve Lawrence in your film is never a good thing (although we should all be thankful Edie wasn't with him), but The Lonely Guy is certainly a funny movie that should resonate with everyone who has ever been lonely (and I think that's just about every one of us).
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