Product Description

ROMANTIC COMEDY ABOUT A CONSERVATIVE LAWYER AND HIS KOOKY BRIDE.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5085 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2002-04-09
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 106 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Devotees of Neil Simon's repartee, such as in his Goodbye Girl and Brighton Beach Memoirs, will enjoy this earlier tale of domestic dispute between newlyweds. Corie (Jane Fonda) is the young housewife trying to keep life exciting while making a home for her and her husband, Paul (Robert Redford), on the fifth floor of a Greenwich Village walkup apartment. He's working hard at starting his career as lawyer; she's eager to be romantic and spontaneous; and the two have plenty to squabble about. The film suffers a bit from Corie's excessive perkiness and the odd lack of chemistry between the two actors. But those who find the dramatic conventions a bit stiff (some of the dialogue and action seems more suited for stage than screen) may still smile at the dated look (circa 1967) at home life. Mildred Natwick is superb as Corie's mother, and Charles Boyer milks his role as the elderly bohemian neighbor upstairs. --Jenny Brown

Customer Reviews

The Cast Really Shines In Simon's Comedy
I'm no great fan of Neil Simon, but this neat adaption of his popular stage success BAREFOOT IN THE PARK brings a smile to my face--and it probably will yours too. The story is quite simple: newlyweds Robert Redford and Jane Fonda have moved into a New York apartment building peopled by eccentrics... and their own tiny apartment has hole in the skylight, no heat, and you have walk up five flights to get there. Redford, a rather stodgy conservative, takes a dim view of the whole thing; Fonda, who has an excessively happy-go-lucky disposition, thinks everything is great fun. Needless to say, they're soon going at it hammer and tongs.

This is a very contrived, sitcom-ish film, but the cast carries it well. Although Redford has remained a great star for forty years, his films have been very hit or miss; here he is well cast, and he plays expertly. During this period of her career, Fonda was very much the perky girl-next-door with a slight sex-kitten spin, and she too is fun to watch. But the real winners here are Charles Boyer, as their eccentric neighbor, and particularly Mildred Natwick, as Fonda's mother. Natwick excelled at playing disconcerted matrons, and this is perhaps the best of the many fine, memorable variations of the type she offered during her long and very enjoyable career. BAREFOOT IN THE PARK won't go down in history as a great film, nor will change your point of view. But it is tremendously good fun, a film I've enjoyed every time time I've seen it--and that is a good many. Recommended; you'll enjoy it.

Barefoot in the Park
Robert Redford and Jane Fonda are newlyweds in this quirky comedy. They play well off each other with him playing straight serious to her funny spontaneity. This is a treasure that you will want to view over and over again.

Barefoot in the Park
Barefoot In the Park - Paramount, 1967

Jane Fonda is adorable in this Broadway hit play by Neil Simon converted to the big screen. Fonda and Robert Redford are Corie and Paul Bratter, newlyweds adjusting to their newfound married life. Corie is carefree and vibrant, whereas her husband, Paul, is prim and proper. Together, they make a dazzling team that answers the question: Do opposites attract? The script rarely leaves their hilariously small apartment, located on the fifth floor of a building with no elevator. This adds for some laughable moments in the movie as visitors have to walk up five flights of stairs to reach them. Mildred Natwick plays Corrie's concerned mother, and she livens up the script with her dry wit and humorous lines. This is a wonderful romantic comedy that will lift your spirits. I just wish the movie was a bit longer. . . I would have loved to see what became of this lovable couple