Goodbye Lover (1999)

This is How Movies Should Be Made

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Six pages of reviews, and after all these years, nobody mentioned the obvious fascination the camera has with legs, feet and footwear. Ain't got no nothing' against some fetishistic fun, hell no, but here it falls flat. It also doesn't stay with what is pretty. The close-up of Ellen's foot as she lies there on the desk, DUCK!Patricia Arquette drew major attention for TRUE ROMANCE, but this is years later. She still has got the legs, but wears what can only be described as a horrendously awful wig with a bad cut that sits askew, and with the coming of age, she looks like she is fast turning into Dame Judi Dench, while she sounds just like Melanie Griffith. Not a recipe for success, in my opinion, though if it floats your boat, you're welcome to it, but I'll pass. Ellen Degeneres further grated. Luke two aircraft carriers scraping together. That much. Was reminded of that other fetishistic movie EXIT TO EDEN that also fell flat, with Rosie O'Donnell (can't be bothered to check up on the spelling, who cares?), you know, unattractive bothersome screen presence waddling like a wrecking crew through the movie...Not at all as good as some reviewers make it. They must have watched some other version. That's the one I should have bought.P.S. Mary-Louise Parker did great!

Goodbye Lover (1998): Dir: Roland Joffe / Cast: Don Johnson, Patricia Arquette, Dermot Mulroney, Mary Louise Parker, Ellen DeGeneres: Strange dark comedy that is both clever and insulting. There is no love or lovers in this film, only deceit, lust and murder. Don Johnson plays a big corporate boss unable to control his aggressive brother. He is having an affair with Patricia Arquette who is married to his brother. When Johnson becomes involved with Mary-Louise Parker he breaks contact with Arquette who threatens blackmail. He receives a threatening call from his brother, which leads to murder. Subplot involving the doctor is not necessary and the sequence between Johnson and Arquette at Church is revolting. Then there is that Sound of Music cassette that plays a role of its own. Director Roland Joffe keeps everything uncertain with Arquette well cast as the vixen poisoning the minds of all for the sake of control. Dermot Mulroney plays the drunken aggressive brother. Johnson is excellent in the lead struggling to maintain a certain level of dignity in the midst of a police investigation. Parker is also superb as the lover who also becomes entangled in the web of deceit. Ellen DeGeneres is terrific playing a cynical cop investigating the crime and spewing one-liners. Strong theme regarding deceit marred with aggressive sex, which viewers will either engage or bid farewell. Score: 6 / 10

I confess, I bought the movie because my best friend, Porfirio Mojica, performed the soundtrack at the point where Don Johnson is playing the keyboards in the organ loft. This particular scene (a love scene with Patricia Arquette) is pretty steamy, I admit. Saint Mathew Passion, I believe, is the piece they used. I recognize Pro's (our nickname for Porfirio) style because I grew up listening to him play. Unfortunately, he was not mentioned in the credits because he is not a member of the Screen Actors Guild. Porfirio still performs and teaches music at Mount San Antonio Community College (MTSACC) in Walnut, California. I watch the movie from time to time to hear him in the soundtrack, but I give the movie itself an average rating of 6 out of 10.

I loved this movie! I thought it was funny and very refreshing. Patricia Arquette is my favorite actress, and I loved to see her playing a more evil charactor. There are some plot twists, but the reason to see this is not for the plot twists, it's for the quirky sets, Patricia Arquette showing off her beautiful assets in numerous funky outfits, and the extremely funny deadpan humor of Ellen Degeneres. I thought Ellen was hilarious in a role that one wouldn't normally see her, and found the humor refreshing as it was not like her stand up humor at all. The film attempts to cast itself as a film noir and I think it achieves that in a tongue in cheek way. It's not classic film noir, its funky film noir! If you are a Patricia Arquette fan or like movies with a touch of wackiness, then you should see this film.