Product Description

The romantic life of NBA referee Billy Crystal is on the rebound when he falls for airline employee Debra Winger. Crystal also directs this transatlantic comedy slam dunk with top-notch supporting cast of comedy pros, including Joe Mantegna, Cathy Moriarty and William Hickey.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17449 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2000-01-18
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, HiFi Sound, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 101 minutes

Amazon.com
Billy Crystal plays Mickey, a basketball referee who has to accompany his estranged father's body to France, where the old man requested to be buried with the other members of his D-Day platoon. Unfortunately for Mickey, the airline loses his body. Fortunately for Mickey, this leads him to meet Ellen (Debra Winger), an airline executive who takes personal charge of the case and even joins him at the funeral. A whirlwind Paris romance leads to marriage, but that's when the complications begin... The story of Mickey and Ellen's marriage is recounted by their friends (played by Joe Mantegna, Cynthia Stevenson, Julie Kavner, Richard Masur, John Spencer, and Cathy Moriarty) as they wait for Mickey and Ellen to arrive at a dinner party. And of course these friends have their own stories, which are played out in witty shorthand as they bicker about who's going to tell the next part of the Mickey/Ellen saga. Forget Paris is uneven (unsurprisingly, Winger is stronger in the dramatic sections and Crystal in the comic parts, a schism that takes its toll on their chemistry), but its best parts hold up, even if the whole is shaky. Plus, the movie's theme (that romantic memories aren't what makes a marriage work, you have to live in the present) is explored with conviction and tenderness. --Bret Fetzer

From The New Yorker
A Billy Crystal movie with a vengeance: he produced, directed, and stars, as Mickey, a basketball referee who flies to Paris (or a tourist parody of Paris) and loses his heart to Ellen (Debra Winger), an airline worker. They get married, and the problems start-for them, and for the movie. Crystal and Winger make one of the great no-sparks couples in recent cinema: he cracks jokes, she looks baffled and strained. He also co-wrote, with the team of Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, whose scripts since "Splash" (1984) have been getting less nutty and more therapeutic; this one turns into a marriage-counselling session. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Deeeeelightful!......
This review refers to the Warner Bros. DVD edition of "Forget Paris".....

Andy and Liz(Joe Mantegna/Cynthia Stevenson) are about to take the plunge. You know, tie the knot, add the ball and chain,,the Big "M"...Marriage!. But wait...at their pre-wedding celebration dinner, Liz is meeting all of Andy's friends and what a tale they have to tell..

The story of Mickey and Ellen(Billy Crystal/Debra Winger) begins to unfold as each of the couples take their turn relating the events, and they're not always the picture of wedded bliss!

Mickey and Ellen met under unusual circumstances. It seems Mickey's deceased father "got lost" on the way to Paris for a burial.Ellen is a supervisor at the Paris airport and helps Mickey find and bury his father. And so it begins..they fall in love and have a long distance(there's the little matter of a pond)relationship.They finally marry and live happily ever after...NOT....well maybe...

It's one thing after another, as these two try to adapt to the other's world. The laughs and the smiles are non stop, and when Ellen's Dad(William Hickey) comes into the picture you know you're in for a treat!

A well seasoned cast keeps the story moving beautifully. It includes Julie Kavner, Richard Masur, Cathy Moriariarty and John Spencer. Mickey is a basketball referee, so you're also treated to some wonderful cameos by some sports legends. Billy Crystal directs and also wrote it along with Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel.

The DVD is beautiful. It has an excellent picture and colors and you have the choice of widescreen or the standard version. The sound is in Dolby Digital Stereo surround and the wonderful music is nicely spaced. The soundtrack is also marvelous. Besides the original score(Marc Shaiman) and songs by Carole Bayer Sager and Anita Baker, you may also fall in love again with tunes by Duke Ellington, George Gershwin and Cole Porter.

Get romantic,watch some basketball, have a good laugh...and...enjoy...Laurie

Real, identifiable, funny, delectable. One of the best!
Whatever paeans are sung to this impeccable lark of a flick will fall short of my true love and awe for it -- it is funny, very very well made and edited (not one boring or drawn out scene), both Debra Winger and Billy Crystal have a delectable chemistry and are in top form with their punchlines, and above all, this is a story that is so real and credible in its romance and emotions, one can almost _immediately_ identify with it. The story's narrative is in the reins of a bunch of people over a dinner table (quite an innovative flow as we lead Mickey and Ellen's lives -- Crystal and Winger respectively). The scenes and situations revolve around the couple's romance and the rough waters that they have to wade through, some touching, most quite interesting. And last but not the least, it just picks up some of the most beautiful songs by Cole Porter, the Gershwins and some other great american composers. This is all-round amazing entertainment -- pity it's not a sin to watch, or it would be as near bloody perfect as cinema can get!

Unforgettable
I have never been a huge fan of romantic comedies, but Forget Paris is a rare exception. The film stands out because of its superior writing, structure, and performances. Billy Crystal is in perfect form, and Debra Winger plays the perfect foil, showcasing her rarely-seen comedic talents. The supporting cast fills out the ensemble nicely.

I found the structure of the movie entirely engaging. Although the film could have been told as a straight story, the flashback devices kept me pulled into the story. In sum, this is not a film to be missed--even those who don't particularly care for romantic comedies will enjoy it.