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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Poignant Look At Getting On With Life, May 30, 2000
A sometimes humorous, but more often poignant look at the trials and tribulations of divorce and trying to get on with life is covered in "Bye Bye, Love," directed by Sam Weisman. Told primarily through the perspective of three divorced fathers, it offers an overview of what has increasingly become a significant segment of family life in America. Donny (Paul Reiser) hasn't yet accepted that it's over between himself and his ex, Claire (Jayne Brook); he still feels too much for her. He tells his friends he'll start dating again when it feels right (It's been three years). At the same time, he's having trouble communicating with his fourteen -year-old daughter, Emma (Eliza Dushku), who, according to Donny, is in "That difficult age group: twelve through thirty-five." Dave (Matthew Modine) has a fairly amicable relationship with his ex, Susan (Amy Brenneman), but still shies away from commitment, and has a string of girlfriends. At one point his son, Ben (Ross Malinger), asks if they could wear name tags to make it easier on him. Vic (Randy Quaid) has the hardest time of all; he and his ex, Grace (Lindsay Crouse) are barely civil to one another, which, of course, makes handling the situation with the kids all the more difficult. The film does a nice job of addressing the various dilemmas faced by all involved, including the children, without ever delving too deeply or getting so serious as to take the story in an entirely different direction; from the Friday transfers of the kids from mom to dad, to the attempts at weekend "bonding" with their children by the fathers who desperately want to stay close, to the needs of all the adults to find the love and relationships necessary to move on with their lives. There's some memorable moments, as well, here; one is a thoughtful sequence played against Mary Chapin Carpenter's wistful song "Stones In The Road," and another is an especially hilarious scene in which Vic has a blind date with a young divorcee named Lucille (Janeane Garofalo), which starts off badly and goes downhill from there. Their dinner together at an Italian restaurant is priceless; pure classic comedy. Another nice touch to the overall story is using a young man, Max (Johnny Whitworth), who works at McDonald's and is training Walter (Ed Flanders), a seventy-year-old working on the "adopt a geezer" program, as a kind of before and after contrast to where Donny, Vic and Dave are currently at in their own lives. Max is just entering the arena of romance; he has an eye for Vic's daughter, Meg (Amber Benson), while Walter is a widower who lost his wife after forty-eight years of marriage, and still pines for her. Interjected throughout is another nice bit, as radio talk-show-host-marriage-counselor Dr. David Townsend (Rob Reiner) of station KGAB dispenses advice even as he prepares for his own fifth wedding. The supporting cast includes Maria Pitillo (Kim), Dana Wheeler-Nicholson (Heidi) and Pamela Dillman (Sheila). The performances are good all around, most notably Reiser, who conveys his angst and frustration particularly well, and Quaid, whose bitterness and caustic sarcasm are almost tangible. The real standout here, however, is Garofalo, who takes hold of a lesser role and absolutely shines, creating a singularly unforgettabe character in Lucille. This may not be a masterpiece, but it's a good movie, and one you're going to want to see more than once (or even twice). Anyone who has ever been married, divorced, a parent, a kid or any of the above, will find something here with which to identify. "Bye Bye, Love," is sometimes funny, sometimes bittersweet and touching, and one you're going to remember and, I think, appreciate.
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