Main Cast: Ryan O'Neal, Shelley Long, Drew Barrymore, Sam Wanamaker, Allen Garfield
Release Year: 1984
Country: US
Run Time: 114 minutes
Plot
In this human-scale drama/comedy, a pair of Beverly Hills parents, Albert (Ryan O'Neal) and Lucy (Shelley Long) first come together as a couple interested in writing (she) and teaching (he), but Albert's life takes an upscale turn when he starts both writing and then directing in Hollywood. As he becomes successful, Lucy is forced to burrow into her own writing in self-defense, and after her book is well-received, she is compensated a little for Albert's lack of attention and philandering. After Hollywood and its well-known flaws are sketched out in the increasingly strained marriage, the story reaches its primary focus: Albert and Lucy's 9-year-old daughter Casey (Drew Barrymore) talks to a lawyer because she wants to sue her parents for divorce. She gets no hugs or affection, and precious little attention, and she would prefer to go live with the maid. Given the parents' celebrity, the case receives wide press -- and the family begins to reconsider where it is going and why. Although a bit long, especially in the first half which wanders off course a little, the story is engaging enough (especially for Hollywood buffs) to balance any weaknesses. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
Review
If Irreconcilable Differences had been produced twenty years later, it would have been made for the cable channel E!. Those familiar with Hollywood scandals will enjoy this film. Ryan O'Neal's character, a film scholar who had written a thesis on the films of Ernst Lubitsch and favors studious looking think-lensed glasses, is an obvious evocation of Peter Bogdonovich. The character's marriage to Lucy (Shelley Long), and his rise to fame closely resembles Bogdanovich's relationship with Polly Platt and his own early career success. What turns Irreconcilable Differences into something more than Hollywood gossip is the preternatural maturity of Drew Barrymore. Here cast as a child who sees the emptiness of her father's Hollywood lifestyle and mourns the crumbling of her family, she communicates a weariness that would be disturbing from someone so young were it not for her superb comic timing. Barrymore, and the rest of the cast, makes this material worthwhile for any audience, even those who know nothing of Bogdanovich, Platt, or Cybill Shepherd - hysterically spoofed here by a very young Sharon Stone. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Sharon Stone - Blake Chandler; Beverlee Reed - Dotty Chandler; Carl Byrd - Sound Man; Hortensia Colorado - Maria Hernandez; Jenny Gago - Tracy; Wendy Gordon - Reporter; David Graf - Bink; Eloise Hardt - Elaine Kessler; Ildiko Jaid - Whispering Woman; Dana Kaminski - Woman in Dress Shop; Kelly Lange - Anchorwoman; Ken Lerner - Doctor; Larry Marko - Court Clerk; Kim Marriner - Reporter; Mark May - Reporter; Irving Meyers - Man in Bar; Annie Meyers-Shyer - Little Girl in Crowd; Steven K. Miller - Reporter; Richard Minchenberg - Howard Kay; Stuart Pankin - Ronnie; David Paymer - Alan Slusier; Rex Reed - Entertainment Editor; Charlotte Stewart - Sally; Lorinne Vozoff - Judge Shalack; Steffen Zacharias - Man at Party; Luana Anders - Atlanta Widow; William A. Fraker - Gabrielle Cinematographer; Ida Random - Woman at Party; Laura Campbell - Uptight Woman; Deborah Cody - Reporter; Minnie Lindsay - Inez; Arlin Miller - Radio Newscaster; David D'Arnal - Waiter; Ken Gale - Reporter; Gregory Hodal - Atlanta Preacher; Johna Stewart - Little Casey
Credit
Jane Bogart - Art Director, Ida Random - Art Director, Mort Schwartz - Costume Designer, Joe Tompkins - Costume Designer, Charles Shyer - Director, John F. Burnett - Editor, Nancy Meyers - Executive Producer, Paul De Senneville - Composer (Music Score), Olivier Toussant - Composer (Music Score), Ida Random - Production Designer, William A. Fraker - Cinematographer, Richard Hashimoto - Producer, Nancy Meyers - Producer, Arlene Sellers - Producer, Alex Winitsky - Producer, William A. Fraker - Screenwriter, Nancy Meyers - Screenwriter, Charles Shyer - Screenwriter
The film begins with media attention surrounding Casey Brodsky's decision to divorce her parents and have cleaning lady Maria Hernandez become Casey's legal guardian, which results in her parents Albert and Lucy Brodsky being brought out of their self-absorbed lives and being made to testify in court about their personal lives. Much of the film is presented as a flashback. At a truckstop in Indiana on the night of January 20th, 1973, filmprofessor Albert Brodsky is hitchhiking across the country, where he gets picked up by Lucy van Patten, a woman who has ambitions of writing books, particularly for children, but is repressed by her fiancé "Bink", a gruff Navy man, and is depressed about being relegated to the lifestyle of a military wife. Through getting to know Albert, Lucy loosens her inhibitions, breaks off her engagement to Bink and marries Albert shortly afterwards. The couple moves to California, where Albert befriends a famed Hollywood producer who entrusts him to film a romantic script the producer has kept shelved for a long time. When Albert suffers from writer's block about the romance, Lucy aids him with her writing skills. The film becomes a box office hit, but cracks are forming in Albert and Lucy's marriage, particularly the facts that Albert was slow to credit Lucy for the screenplay and he is frequently traveling to places such as Cannes, France, while leaving his daughter in the care of Lucy or more often Maria, their maid. When Albert sees a young woman named Blake Chandler working at a hot dog stand, he takes her home and casts her in the part of his next movie, which becomes a moderate success. When Lucy sees signs Albert is interested in Blake for more than just acting, she divorces Albert, further troubling Casey. Albert ensures Lucy gets custody of Casey while he lives in a Hollywood mansion with Blake. A turning point occurs when Lucy, angered both at Albert's procrastination at paying child support and the sight of an obese woman buying the same food as her in a supermarket, channels her anger into writing a tell-all novel. Albert's producers are warning him not to remakeGone with the Wind into a musical called "Atlanta", mainly because Blake Chandler cannot sing. Albert ignores the advice, and his budget for "Atlanta" skyrockets, mainly because of his perfectionist attitude and Blake's diva-like behavior on set. "Atlanta" becomes a notable box office bomb, making Albert unhireable in Hollywood and causing Blake to desert him. Meanwhile, Lucy's novel becomes a raging success, causing her to buy Albert's mansion and move in herself. The film then returns to the courtroom, where Casey gives testimony that just because two parents no longer love each other, that does not give them the right to ignore their children. The film ends with both Lucy and Albert visiting Casey on the same day by mistake and deciding to go out to eat at a family restaurant, suggesting there is now a more peaceful relationship among the three than before.
