Forget Paris (1995)

I have genuinely loved this movie! I've seen it many times, I rewatch it every time I need something sweet to soothe my soul...realistic, romantic, funny! Plus...let's NOT forget Paris...seeing the beautiful city really adds up to the movie charm! If you ever come across this one and aren't sure if it's worth watching, I hope my review will help you to just leave everything aside and press 'play'! Beautiful romantic comedy!

It seems like Billy Crystal wanted to make the perfect sequel to When Harry Met Sally (1989), a movie he starred earlier with Meg Ryan, where they portrayed 2 persons who fall in love. Now, in Forget Paris, we follow 2 similar persons who fall in love THEN get marry (You won't deny how Debra Winger looks like Meg Ryan in some moments). Forget Paris, also, transfers you to Casablanca (1942), the Hollywood masterpiece, in terms of love story in Pairs, with a married woman, then the promise of "We'll always have Paris" (Casablanca was the favorite movie for both Harry and Sally as well). So Crystal decided to make use of love, as a romantic fantasy from those 2 movies, for none other than smashing it when it turns into marriage, only to build it all over again, but not before understanding the consciences and responsibilities of it. So forget Paris, but don't forget love itself. Hence we have : The subject of love during marriage, which's brilliant and uncommon in modern Hollywood movies. Crystal, a super comedian, who wrote it and directed it as well. Winger who's absolute magic, even if she recorded her voice while reading the newspaper's political columns. And a clever supporting cast that every comedy yearns for. So why the final result isn't as good as all of that ?!I think the script is the basic guilty. Yes, the plot of detached flashbacks is thrilling, there are classic comedic scenes (like the one with the sweetest prenup I have ever witnessed), and – in the end – it's like "Hey.. all of the marriage's problems is just another dinner". Nevertheless, right after the marriage happened, the situations got colder, and the good lines got lesser. There was not enough energy, or laughing.Moreover, the comedy leaned to being disgusting, whether with the fertility clinic sequence, or the old father sequence; which was shockingly awful, more of a crime against old people, and such a bad taste that turned me off while the viewing ! The soundtrack is beautifully jazzy. It has a golden selection of oldies. And I believe Ella Fitzgerald's cover of April in Paris was used in a very smart way; during the sad photomontage of the 2 leads' separation near the end. However, while jazz itself is a creative hint that marriage has no known system, and is based on the best improvisation you could ever do—the movie dwelled on that jazzy mood, enjoying a series of mostly uninteresting sketches, leading to common, so laconic, climax which didn't live up to Casablanca or When Harry Met Sally endings.Forget Paris is a rom-com that wanted to be different, and it did, but lost being fast enough, and comic enough in the way. The problem is bigger, putting in mind the powerful potential, and the names involved. It's entertaining and meaningful, which's great combination apart. Though, it needed more craft to be great movie altogether.Finally, wouldn't it eat you to not seeing Crystal in movies that deserve his talent, and utilize it to the max ? For me, in a long 40 years career, from the last 1970s to the late 2010s, still his closest movie to reach that rank is City Slickers (1991) !

I'm generally a lover of romantic comedies, but this one didn't really deliver the goods for me. It is unusual in focusing not on the courtship but on the course of the couple's early married life. I guess I objected to the fact that separation seems such an easy option for this couple when they aren't feeling self fulfilled. Plenty enough of that, alas, in real life. The method of story telling is certainly unique, and somewhat effective, as it's done in flashback at an Italian restaurant by their friends, each supplying a part of the tale as they wait for the couple (who may or may not be together) to join them. The couple meet in Paris when Ellen, an airline official, helps Mickey, a basketball referee, sort out the airline's error in sending his father's body to the wrong destination. They have a romantic whirlwind courtship, seeing all the sights. However, marriage of course proves a big adjustment back in the States, as Ellen misses her successful airline career. Also, Ellen's father, who's a bit senile, comes to live with the newlyweds in their apartment, driving Mickey crazy.Nothing the matter with the cast. Billy Crystal is okay here, though I prefer When Harry Met Sally (not my favorite romantic comedy either). He seems to have a consistent persona of crazy yappiness. As a rule, I really like Debra Winger, but this simply isn't her best role.The movie has some laughs certainly (Mickey's veal ordering rut, for example) and a few good points, such as the father-in-law issue and the fact that the pair do honestly attempt to compromise and make it work, with Mickey for a time sacrificing his travels as referee to be at home with his wife. However, all in all, it's just too contrived and deliberately modern. The young wife who wants her own career fulfillment. Ho, hum. Naturally, the couple has fertility problems. The wild drive where Mickey is racing his semen sample to the fertility clinic is supposedly hilarious but failed to amuse me much. It seemed with its sexual implications such a calculated attempt to elicit a guaranteed laugh. Sort of like the restaurant faked orgasm scene in When Harry Met Sally. The old romantic comedies used to manage quite nicely without this sort of thing. They just don't make them like they used to.At least the film does make the point that marriage isn't just about romance (hence the phrase, forget Paris) but about sacrifice and commitment. So I suppose in a sense, something of a good message.

There are those comedies that are a good watch once, and that's it. However, there are those few romantic comedies that capture your attention and the humor is able to stay with you for a long time. This is one of those films. Narrated by several of the characters in the film, it has a special quality one can never forget.From beginning to end, the narrators tell the love story of how the two leads meet, fall in love, and have troubles. Around four or five years is covered in the whole two hour piece. It's comedically written, but then, Crystal is the genius behind that, and it was well executed acting and directing wise.Anyone who enjoys beautiful cinematography and great lines in a film, you'll enjoy Billy Crystal's "Forget Paris".