Barefoot in the Park

1967 "Broadway's barest, rarest, unsquarest love play."
7| 1h46m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 25 May 1967 Released
Producted By: Paramount
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

In this film based on a Neil Simon play, newlyweds Corie, a free spirit, and Paul Bratter, an uptight lawyer, share a sixth-floor apartment in Greenwich Village. Soon after their marriage, Corie tries to find a companion for mother, Ethel, who is now alone, and sets up Ethel with neighbor Victor. Inappropriate behavior on a double date causes conflict, and the young couple considers divorce.

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Reviews

Nonureva Really Surprised!
SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."
Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
HotToastyRag Everyone knows Robert Redford's acting style is perfect for the camera, rather than the theater. He's subtle; the slight raise of his eyebrow means volumes. That being said, would you be surprised to find out he originated the lead role in Barefoot in the Park on Broadway? I was.In Neil Simon's romantic comedy, newlyweds Robert Redford and Jane Fonda ride out some early speedbumps in their marriage. Bob is an uptight lawyer, and Jane is a free spirit. Their arguments are legendary, and chances are you've seen a clip in a romantic film montage. Robert Redford's "I have a case in court in the morning" line has become a household phrase in my family.While this is a pretty famous romantic classic, I actually really didn't like it the first time I saw it. Jane Fonda is absolutely adorable beyond belief; this is definitely one her cutest roles. But Robert Redford was too convincing in his role, and I couldn't stand him! I realize now that my hatred of him was a compliment to his acting, but at the time, I couldn't separate how much I hated his character from his acting ability. It wasn't until I watched The Great Gatsby that I fell in love with him.
pyrocitor "I've never seen a young couple so in love," Mildren Natwick fondly croons near the climax of Gene Saks' adaptation of Neil Simon's smash Broadway hit, but by that point in the film we're wary enough to know better. Of course, it's second nature that a drama about a couple happily in love sustaining a functional relationship would never make for thrilling viewing (more's the pity…), but Simon is canny enough to dig a notch deeper than the average relationship yarn, and interrogate why we invest so heavily in the wish fulfillment of successful resolutions to seemingly irreconcilable relationship drama. As such, Barefoot in the Park proves a lighthearted but provocatively probing two-hander, a less urbane Breakfast at Tiffany's or a less acerbic Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? if you will – less iconic than both, but sharp and sprightly enough to not be unworthy of the comparison. Saks manages to keep his finger on the uniquely liminal state of late 1960s cinema, counterbalancing the more youth-driven, The Graduate-era risqué with a lighter, more Blake Edwards playfulness (I did a double-take at the Mickey Mouse-ing soundtrack on the recurring 'six flights of stairs' gag to ensure I wasn't watching The Party). It helps that Simon's airtight script keeps things ticking along at a jaunty pace, and the mischievous sitcom-esq scenarios which unfold are arguably more endearing and amusing than those of The Odd Couple. Interestingly, although Barefoot in the Park is billed as a comedy, in spite of in spite of Simon's plentiful zingers and the sparkling performances of Jane Fonda and Robert Redford, the proceedings become increasingly bittersweet, as hindsight lends the perspective of how incompatible their relationship is (it's poignant that Simon wrote the play retroactively based on the dissolution of his first marriage). As such, the closing inevitable romantic reconciliation and 'marriage means compromise' theme don't sit as well as the average happy ending, as it feels like we've been privy enough to the misfiring mechanics of the couple's relationship to let them get off that easy. If anything, this potentially unsatisfactory resolution, which likely played better on the page, may be testament to the leading actors being almost too good at their parts. The character of Paul, meant to play as dull and repressed, is made almost too likable through the luminescent charisma of Redford, perfectly deadpan snappy delivery and hysterical comedy drunk stylings and all, to not feel like the invariable 'good guy' in the scenario, which threatens to skew the relationship balance and defeat Simon's point. Likewise, Fonda embodies the fun-loving, carefree Corrie with such phenomenal gusto that it's difficult to not find her character quirks play as somewhat overwhelming rather than endearing, or for her second act hysterical drunken meltdown to not play as distressingly, wantonly self-absorbed. It's poignant that we, the audience, are given access to Corrie privately, at her most grounded, where her fears and neuroses are teased out in more sympathetic depth, whereas Redford's Paul only sees her at her most manic and performative – an essentially nuanced, clever ploy of characterization. Ultimately, in the end, Simon's objective is not celebrating Corrie and Paul's inevitable reunion (although Fonda and Redford play the heartwarming, troubled heart out of it) as much as understanding how such problematically imbalanced relationships can be and frequently are pushed to persist, sometimes at the detriment of those involved. Paul's "even when I didn't like you I loved you" quip is poignantly on the nose, and helps redirect audience expectations of fairy tale-style romantic closure to appreciating the moments of joy that come along the way, even if sadly foreshadowing future problems or an invariable eclipse. Will they make it in the end? It's hard to see, even hard to endorse. But, deep down, do we want them to? Yes, gosh darn it, we do, just as they do, warts and all. And maybe – hopefully – that's enough. If anything, the film's most pleasant twist is its treatment of Mildred Natwick, Corrie's mother. Introduced as if the set up for a one-note nattery, conservative old crone of a character, Natwick defies stereotypical expectations, surprisingly as a dryly 'with it' woman with a world-weary sense of humour and adventure alike. Similarly, Charles Boyer, as Paul and Corrie's eccentric, mischievous, and ambiguously lusty squatting attic neighbour, wins many laughs, but equally surprises with a deceptively complex and human character amidst his wild antics. If anything, Saks' film is more sympathetic towards romance in the winter years, suggesting the surest way of guaranteeing a functioning relationship is to approach one with the hindsight of a lifetime of pain and mistakes. It's hard not to take to the madcap silliness yet odd dignity of their impromptu pairing, and Natwick and Boyer are both hilarious and lovable in embodying it. Barefoot in the Park isn't perfect, and definitely loses some of its oompf with age, and the onset of other, equally or more nuanced romantic comedies and dramas alike. Nonetheless, Simon's classic remains a pleasantly twinkling, smartly scripted, and on-point dissection of a passionate yet fundamentally flawed relationship, and Fonda and Reford, amidst the stair gags, snowflakes through the skylight, and drunken, Albanian restaurant hijinx, are exceptionally human as its leading duo. Nearly 50 years on, it's still worth throwing caution to the winds and romping barefoot through the freezing grass with them – even if you've got court in the morning. -8/10
Wuchak "Barefoot in the Park" (1967) is a romcom starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda as newlyweds in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. The former is conservative while the latter is free-spirited and their differences come to the fore after a few days of marital bliss. Mildred Natwick plays the mother of Fonda's character and Charles Boyer plays an eccentric neighbor, Victor Velasco, who lives in the attic of their apartment building.This movie is good as a mid-60's period piece where you get to view a 20-something couple who are just a bit too old for the counter-culture, albeit somewhat "hip." It's an amiable and innocent sitcom with a few amusing moments, but it was a chore for me to get through. The story and characters just never engaged me. The film only perked up when the eccentric neighbor was around, Velasco. Another problem is too much of the movie takes place in the apartment -- like 90% -- which means the setting is one-dimensional. Of course, this wouldn't be a problem if the story and characters were interesting. Also, Natwick, as the mother, is too old for the part because the character's supposed to be like 53 years-old while Natwick was 61 during filming and looked like 63-65.While "Barefoot" is a must for serious fans of Redford and Fonda, 1979's "The Electric Horseman" is the far superior choice if you want to see the two starring together.The film runs 106 minutes and was shot in Greenwich Village, Manhattan.GRADE: C-
Amy Adler Corrie (Jane Fonda) and Paul Bratter (Robert Redford) are newlyweds. After six days at the Plaza Hotel in NYC, they move into their new digs on 10th Street. Its a five flight walk-up and Corrie, arriving first, greets the telephone man and is thrilled with her first appliance as a married woman. Hoping the furniture will be delivered before lawyer Paul gets home from work, she is, alas, disappointed. Also, Paul is breathless from the many stairs, finds a hole in the skylight which lets in a cold draft, and learns he has his "first case in court" in the morning. More trouble follows as Corrie's mother, Ethel (Mildred Natwick) drops by for a surprise visit. It's obvious that only Corrie sees the apartment's potential, as she is naturally flighty about most issues, in contrast to her more cautious hubby and mother. Late at night, one last visitor sneaks in. He is Victor Velasco (Charles Boyer) and he needs to climb through Corrie's window to make it to his attic apartment, as he is late on the rent. Ahoy! Now, Corrie's gets the brilliant plan to match up Ethel and Victor on the next Tuesday night. On that day, the older folks don't really seem to hit it off and Paul becomes annoyed when Corrie backs up Victor's plan to take a ferry to a Staten Island restaurant. Suddenly, after the young newlyweds are finally alone in their apartment, the bickering becomes screaming, which becomes "I want a divorce!". After barely a week of marriage, could they really be headed to Splitsville? Well, things were already on shaky ground when Paul wouldn't walk barefoot in a nearby park in the cold! This classic, timeless comedy of the first days of married "bliss" is one for the ages. Written by Neil Simon, the jokes come flying one after the other. Fonda, Redford, Natwick, and Boyer are a darling quartet who nail their parts with aplomb. There's not many scenes outside of the apartment house but what fun to see the costumes and décor of a different era, too. Therefore, get this one and park yourself happily in front of the tube for a couple of hours. If you do, you can pat yourself on the back and say "clever viewer"!