Irreconcilable Differences *** (1984, Ryan O’Neal, Shelley Long, Drew Barrymore) – Classic Movie Review 10,385

Director Charles Shyer’s 1984 Irreconcilable Differences is an attractive, sweet-and-sour romantic comedy, with Ryan O’Neal and Shelley Long playing Albert and Lucy, a self-centred Hollywood couple sued for divorce by their precocious 10-year-old daughter Casey (Drew Barrymore).

Using the device of the court case, the movie traces the couple’s first meeting, how they fell in love and the gradual deterioration of their relationship. The effectively paired stars turn in surprisingly appealing comic performances and Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer’s incisive, witty screenplay makes amusing satirical fun of the movie business.

Irreconcilable Differences is an uneven but attractive début by director Shyer, who also wrote Private Benjamin (1980) with Nancy Meyers.

Also co-starring in the cast are Sam Wanamaker, Allen Garfield, Sharon Stone and David Paymer.

RIP Allen Garfield, who died of complications from COVID-19 on April 7, 2020, aged 80.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,385

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