Neil Simon takes a semi-autobiographical chapter from his own life and turns it into an incredibly kind tale of finding love after death and divorce. James Caan is a not so merry widow and Marsha Mason is a not so gay divorcée.
For the most part I enjoyed this movie. Neil Simon has created many great plays leading to movies such as Brighton Beach, The Odd Couple, Seems Like Old Times and many, many more.
What do you end up with when you combine a Neil Simon script and two superstar leads (James Caan and Marsha Mason)? You should end up with a dynamite movie, but instead "Chapter Two" has almost no plot and listless direction.
CHAPTER TWO is a long and rambling film version of one of Neil Simon's best plays. Like BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS and BILOXI BLUES, this story is based on a part of Neil Simon's own life.
I cannot believe the review I just read about this movie. It makes me want to be in a relationship.
My first impression of this film was that it was..okay...
Never got a chance to see this on stage, but it has the kind of dialogue that makes a play great with competent actors. Chapter Two just doesn't work as a movie.
Shortly after the death of his beloved wife, a witty but man-of-moods writer falls in love with a temperamental and equally witty actress, being encouraged by his full-blooded brother and her romance-hungry best friend who have problems of their own.This film version of Simon's autobiographical play no doubt rewards his addicts with several bright one-liners and also some permissive, gloomier-than-usual domestic drama, (all sparked by detailed performances), but possibly disappoints others with its thin and slightly uneasy plot, occasional bursts of sentimentality and the unconvincing motivations of its central character.
This agonizing comedy-drama got surprisingly sterling reviews upon its release in 1979. I remember opening the movie-section of the L.
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