Irreconcilable Differences (1984)

IRRECONCIALABLE DIFFERENCESThis is one of my all time favorite movies. I tried to find it in video stores or online for years... but it wasn't until my local video store went out of business and sold their entire stock that I was able to get my hands on a copy... a run-down copy at that.This film contains a career best performance from Shelley Long... career highlights from Ryan O'Neal and Sharon Stone... and possibly one of the most potent roles Barrymore has had in her long career.On top of the performances, the screenplay creates a masterful balance of comedy pulled from real life situations, all the while never allowing it to be distracting to the heart tugging elements of the film. The dramatic scenes are played with just as much master craftsmanship as the comedic scenes... and the movie is both entertaining and emotionally packed. Not a common achievement.I don't know how to begin a campaign to get this on DVD, but I'd certainly join any one I can find. A simple wash of the film, remastering, and a few cheesy extras is all I ask.If you haven't seen this movie, do it. B/c I'm sure after doing so you'll hop on the bandwagon calling for this film to get a little more credit than it has received in recent years.... A ...

A very young Drew Barrymore decides to divorce her parents (Ryan O'Neal and Shelley Long) in this hit-and-miss comedy that never does come together. The two have been at odds and pretty much separated for a while after their careers get in the way of what once was a happy and loving marriage. O'Neal hits super-stardom as a film-maker, but does not give Long the credit she deserves and starts romancing the star of his first feature film (the scene-stealing Sharon Stone). He becomes a big-time celebrity with Stone now at his side while Long sinks into depression, but then there is a reversal of fortune as Long becomes a great novelist and O'Neal loses his shirt on a big-budget "Gone With the Wind"-styled film that tanks with critics and audiences. The movie goes back and forth between the media-crazed trial and flashbacks that, like the film, are sometimes mediocre. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

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.

Why is this billed as a comedy? It isn't even close. The concept might work with a better script and directing. Even the acting is poor; there is no chemistry between Long and O'Neal. A nude Sharon Stone couldn't save this movie!