Bye Bye Love is a 1995 comedy-drama that deals with the central issue of divorce. It was directed by Sam Weisman and written by Gary David Goldberg and Brad Hall. It stars Matthew Modine, Randy Quaid, Paul Reiser, Janeane Garofalo, Amy Brenneman, Eliza Dushku, Rob Reiner, and Lindsay Crouse.
Goldberg and Hall stated that they included in the script several fictionalized accounts of events that had happened to divorced friends of theirs.
Also acting in the film were Jayne Brook, and Ed Flanders in his last movie role. A not-yet-famous Jack Black has one line ("Reefer?") as a disc jockey at a party.
The film's soundtrack includes performances by Linda Ronstadt, The Proclaimers, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Ben Taylor, Everly Brothers and Jackson Browne.
Reception
The film was not considered particularly successful, grossing less than $13 million in the U.S. in its theatrical run. It has a 16% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Although overall critical reaction to the film was not positive, Janeane Garofalo's performance as the "date from hell" got good reviews, and earned her a nomination for an American Comedy Award. Many of the reviews complained that the movie played more like an episode of a sitcom than a feature film.
It was released on DVD in February 2005.
Characters
The story focuses on three divorced fathers and lifelong friends: Dave Goldman (Modine), Vic Damico (Quaid), and Donny Carson (Reiser).
Dave is the father of two children: Ben (Ross Malinger) and Michelle (Mae Whitman). Dave dates Kim (Maria Pitillo), a woman much younger than he. This does not make his ex-wife Susan (Brenneman) happy, nor do his children care for Kim all that much. He also does not realize there are some underlying problems in his relationship with Kim. Dave's profession is not specified, but he may be a professor or a doctor. He appears to be the wealthiest of the three friends.
Vic (Quaid) is a wrestling coach/driver's education teacher. He is the father to Meg, Jed, and toddler Lindsay. Vic is more than happy to be divorced from his wife, Grace (Lindsay Crouse). He assumes that she spends the child support on herself. Vic is also not a big fan of her boyfriend, Gerald.
Donny is a real estate agent and has a teenage daughter, Emma (Dushku). Emma is more interested in hooking up with teenage McDonald's employee, Max Cooper (Johnny Whitworth), than spending time with her father. Donny always feels ex-wife Claire (Jayne Brook) will come back to him. He also feels he is in competition with Emma's rich stepfather, Phil (Brad Hall), who has more than provided for Claire and Emma. Donny's closest ally through all of this is Susan, to whom he is secretly attracted.
Other supporting characters in the film include: Dr. David Townsend (Reiner), a radio therapist whom the three fathers listen to regularly; Walter Sims (Flanders), a retired auto worker who works at McDonald's and forms a friendship with Max; and Lucille (Garofalo), a woman who Vic takes out on a blind date and finds out she has multiple issues with everything.
Trivia: The characters Meg and Emma are played by Amber Benson and Eliza Dushku respectively. Both these actresses went on to play main roles on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as did Lindsay Crouse. While Benson shared episodes with both Dushku and Crouse, the three actresses never spoke lines to or were featured in the same scenes as each other.
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