Irreconcilable Differences (1984) Reviews

• Adorable and charming (at first)

  vchimpanzee2004-08-29

  The movie starts with a lawyer telling his client what it means to divorce. Then we find out his client is a precocious little girl. In the courtroom, the girl's parents begin telling their story, which we see though flashbacks. Albert is hitchhiking across the country, and Lucy is taking her boyfriend's car to him, and refuses to stop but instead splashes mud all over Albert. Later Albert is freezing and wet and Lucy feels sorry for him ... The movie is mostly a comedy as Albert and Lucy get to know each other and have a number of misadventures. But Albert, who has a new job as a film professor at UCLA, really wants to direct, and as he makes the contacts that will allow this to happen, he and Lucy see Hollywood life and hope that won't happen to them. Unfortunately ... I liked the movie best when it was a lighthearted comedy. But something had to happen to make Casey want to 'divorce' her parents. Some of it was funny, and some hard to watch. Eventually, whenever the movie would take a dramatic turn, it would recover. And the ending was happy, in a way. Shelley Long and Ryan O'Neal did a great job, and Long went through a number of character changes. Lucy started out adorable and perky but later became disillusioned and bitter. Then she became a confident ... witch (or something that rhymes, anyway). Drew Barrymore was wonderful for a child. I saw a lot of good acting performances, and it would be hard to list them all. Sharon Stone was good as Blake Chandler, a bubblehead who for some odd reason became a star with Albert's help. Blake later showed more dimension to her character, displaying a warm side at one point and later a spoiled side as she expected star treatment. Another good performance came from the actress playing the housekeeper/nanny who apparently spent the most time with Casey. Not a lot of lines, but the character's professionalism and warmth came through. It was a worthwhile movie.

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• Outstanding love story

  timtindy2002-01-31

  Irreconcilable Differences is one of the best movies of the 80s and quite possibly the most underrated love story ever made. For whatever reason, audiences chose to ignore this well-written and well-acted gem in 1984. I think it may have been due to the marketing campaign -- they tried to sell it as a cutesy gimmick movie where a precocious child "divorces" her parents. But that isn't what this movie is about at all. This movie is able to provide strong commentary about failed relationships, especially when egos, power, and greed substitute for the things that should really matter in a person's life. In addition, it creates a viable love story that doesn't resort to typical Hollywood formulas when it creates the conflicts that may or may not separate these two people who we know belong with each other. We the audience get to see them actually fall in love on the screen before our very eyes. You would think this should be fairly standard, but how many movies can you recall (especially recently) that you can say that about? This is done through great acting, writing, and directing. Notice how Shelley Long's voice changes over the years as she goes through the various changes in her life. Watch Ryan O'Neal's eyes toward the end as you can actually see an inner peace that he never had earlier. These are just a few of the great things I loved about this great, heartwarming, and underappreciated film. If you want a great love story with some very good comic and dramatic moments as well, rent this movie! You won't regret it.

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• Underrated

  ctroed2002-05-31

  I didn't know anything about this movie before watching it, except that Drew Barrymore divorces her parents. I think that could be why I found the movie so surprising. But the movie has so many elements that make it one of the strongest films of its type. It's completely engrossing, showing realistically how a marriage can go from highs to lows and that each party can be responsible. It also shows how selfish parents can be and how without realising it they can screw with a child (drew). After watching this film I came to IMDB to see if shelley long or ryan o'neal had won oscars for their performances and if the film won best picture, but apparently it was shunned and not many people have seen it....at least there's cable. It looked like a lot of effort went into making the movie, so it's a shame it's been overlooked.

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• A good look at family vs. career.

  WalterFrith1999-03-15

  Ryan O'Neal and Shelley Long are perfectly matched in this movie about a couple in a marriage that falls apart due to family vs. career. An eight year old Drew Barrymore is very impressive as a child who attempts to divorce her parents because they neglect her. Thrown in for good measure is an intrepid look at the movie business and an early vixen like performance from Sharon Stone as the home wrecker. This film is very balanced in its look at all the subjects involved. A very under rated movie that contains some acute observations about life's priorities (or lack of them).

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• One of the best movies Ryan ONeil ever made!

  dal_asher2007-02-08

  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.

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