Bye Bye Love (1995)

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Life is not easy for three divorced fathers who meet every weekend at a fast food diner to collect their kids from their exes in this mix of comedy and drama starring Matthew Modine, Randy Quaid and Paul Reiser. Each provides a heartfelt performance and Rob Reiner is also solid as a 'radio shrink' whose intermittent broadcasts seem to taunt the trio as he laments the state of marriage today and constantly sides with the wives when discussing divorce. For all the angst that the film builds up - suggesting that fathers always lose out in the divorce process - the comedy treatment dulls any axe that the film has to grind. Janeane Garofalo has the funniest scene of the film as an awful first date whose rampant feminism amusingly gets in the way of all conversation (and dining), however, her scenes are far removed from the divorce woes at the heart of the film. The film indeed works best when it is not trying to be funny with a memorable scene early on in which one father gets very annoyed at his ex-wife spending her alimony payments on her car rather than the kids. Another great scene has one of the men staring out of the window at his ex-wife's lazy new lover, sunbathing with sunglasses on, moping around and doing nothing. The sense of indignation in this segment is quite heartfelt ("how could she prefer him to me?") without the need for a single word to be uttered. As mentioned though, the movie is mostly comedy and never an especially engaging one at that. The film's heart is certainly in the right place, but a slight change of tone could have done wonders here.

Watched this on cable and found it a good relevant comedy with laugh out loud moments and some touching parts. This is a realistic and witty look at divorce from the man's point of view. The dialog isn't dated at all even though it's about 16 years old and it's better and more meaningful than some of the silly comedies they make nowadays. Good screenplay that avoids clichés. Even though there are quite a few characters: ex wives, girlfriends and kids it isn't confusing.The cast is likable Paul Reiser, Matthew Modine and Randy Quaid. Randy shows a lot more range than he usually gets to show. A young Eliza Dushku plays one of the daughters. Amy Brenneman plays one of the ex wives. Watch out for a brief shot of Jack Black.Overall a pleasant feel good comedy about divorce. Watch it.

Dave (Matthew Modine), Vic (Randy Quaid), and Donny (Paul Reiser) are a trio of friends and divorced fathers. Dave has a beautiful new young girlfriend named Kim (Maria Pitillo) but still sports a wandering eye. Vic, whose soul was definitely bruised by his ex-wife, is just agreeing to go on a blind date with Lucille (Janeane Garofalo). As for Donny (Paul Reiser), he is also having severe trouble moving on, holding his former wife in high esteem, even though she has remarried. All of the men have children that they love deeply and who fall into their custody at the appropriate times. Yet, meeting their former mates at such places as McDonald's, in order to exchange their children, still gives everyone a pang of hurt. Will Dave learn to commit himself to one woman? Will Vic let go of his resentments and take a chance on a new love? And will Donny realize his ex is never coming back and give himself permission to love someone else, even if it is Dave's former wife (Amy Brenneman)? As for the kids, will they be able to weather their parents divorce, too? This is a truthful and touching film about divorce in modern America. Yes, it is very common now, making life complicated, especially when children are involved. But, even so, it is not the end of the world, as all of the men, women, and kids discover in this movie. All of the actors are wonderful, with Quaid, especially, giving an extremely humorous and thoughtful performance. Special mention should also go to Garofalo for her drop-dead-funny, neurotic-yet-lovable portrayal of a divorcée. Then, too, the California setting is lovely, the costumes very well chosen, and the production values quite high. Most of all, the script is funny, original, and brutally honest. If you have been down the divorce highway, you should definitely make time for this film. It will help heal wounds with its laughs and sensitivity. But, even if you just want to find a film that will let you "yuck it up", this one is a terrific choice.

Janeane Garafalo and Randy Quaid are the only bright spots in this flick. Ed Flanders (in his last role) has some good moments, but is basically wasted.It was hard to feel much empathy for the "victimized" children of divorce here. "Ben," the screen son of Matthew Modine's character, needed his butt torn off and his mouth nailed shut in my opinion. And "Emma," the screen daughter of Paul Reiser's character, was nothing but a spoiled, miserable brat. She could have used a trip on the clue bus to the land of reality.Randy Quaid's kids were actually kind of cute. Maybe because Randy Quaid's character was more believable as a father than those of either of his co-stars.