Bye Bye Love is a
1995The year 1995 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg....
comedy-drama that deals with the central issue of divorce. It was directed by
Sam WeismanSam Weisman is an American film director. He has directed the films D2: The Mighty Ducks, Bye Bye Love, George of the Jungle, The Out-of-Towners, What's the Worst That Could Happen?, and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star....
and written by
Gary David GoldbergGary David Goldberg is a United States writer and producer for television and film. Goldberg is best known for his work on Family Ties , Spin City , and his semi-autobiographical series Brooklyn Bridge .-Background:Gary David Goldberg was born on June 25, 1944 in Brooklyn, New York...
and
Brad HallWilliam Brad Hall is an American writer and actor, best known as a Saturday Night Live news anchor on Saturday Night News...
. It stars
Matthew ModineMatthew Avery Modine is an American actor, perhaps most famous for playing Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick's 1987 film Full Metal Jacket and high school wrestler Louden Swain in Vision Quest.-Early life:...
,
Randy QuaidRandall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles in the National Lampoons Vacation movies, Independence Day , Kingpin , Brokeback Mountain , and the CBS miniseries Elvis...
,
Paul ReiserPaul Reiser is an American stand-up comedian, actor, author and writer.- Early life :Reiser was born in New York City, the son of Helen, a homemaker, and Sam Reiser, a wholesale health food distributor. Reiser attended the East Side Hebrew Institute on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and...
,
Janeane GarofaloJaneane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist, writer, and former co-host on Air America Radio's The Majority Report...
,
Amy BrennemanAmy Frederica Brenneman is a Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated American actress, perhaps best known for her roles in the television series NYPD Blue, Judging Amy and Private Practice.-Early life:...
,
Eliza DushkuEliza Patricia Dushku is an American actress who has appeared in several Hollywood movies such as True Lies, The New Guy, Bring It On, Wrong Turn and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back...
,
Rob ReinerRobert Norman "Rob" Reiner is an American director, producer, writer, and political activist. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
, and
Lindsay Crouse-Early life:Crouse was born in New York City, the daughter of Anna and Russel Crouse, a playwright. Her full name—Lindsay Ann Crouse—is an intentional tribute to the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Her father and his writing partner, Howard Lindsay, wrote much of...
.
Goldberg and Hall stated that they included in the script several fictionalized accounts of events that had happened to divorced friends of theirs.
Also acting in the film were
Jayne BrookJayne Brook is an American actress, known for her role as Dr. Diane Grad on the medical drama Chicago Hope. She appeared on the series from 1995 to 1999.-Early life:...
, and
Ed FlandersEdward Paul Flanders was an American actor best known for his role as Dr. Donald Westphall in the television series St. Elsewhere.- Biography :...
in his last movie role.
Bye Bye Love is a
1995The year 1995 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg....
comedy-drama that deals with the central issue of divorce. It was directed by
Sam WeismanSam Weisman is an American film director. He has directed the films D2: The Mighty Ducks, Bye Bye Love, George of the Jungle, The Out-of-Towners, What's the Worst That Could Happen?, and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star....
and written by
Gary David GoldbergGary David Goldberg is a United States writer and producer for television and film. Goldberg is best known for his work on Family Ties , Spin City , and his semi-autobiographical series Brooklyn Bridge .-Background:Gary David Goldberg was born on June 25, 1944 in Brooklyn, New York...
and
Brad HallWilliam Brad Hall is an American writer and actor, best known as a Saturday Night Live news anchor on Saturday Night News...
. It stars
Matthew ModineMatthew Avery Modine is an American actor, perhaps most famous for playing Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick's 1987 film Full Metal Jacket and high school wrestler Louden Swain in Vision Quest.-Early life:...
,
Randy QuaidRandall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles in the National Lampoons Vacation movies, Independence Day , Kingpin , Brokeback Mountain , and the CBS miniseries Elvis...
,
Paul ReiserPaul Reiser is an American stand-up comedian, actor, author and writer.- Early life :Reiser was born in New York City, the son of Helen, a homemaker, and Sam Reiser, a wholesale health food distributor. Reiser attended the East Side Hebrew Institute on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and...
,
Janeane GarofaloJaneane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist, writer, and former co-host on Air America Radio's The Majority Report...
,
Amy BrennemanAmy Frederica Brenneman is a Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated American actress, perhaps best known for her roles in the television series NYPD Blue, Judging Amy and Private Practice.-Early life:...
,
Eliza DushkuEliza Patricia Dushku is an American actress who has appeared in several Hollywood movies such as True Lies, The New Guy, Bring It On, Wrong Turn and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back...
,
Rob ReinerRobert Norman "Rob" Reiner is an American director, producer, writer, and political activist. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
, and
Lindsay Crouse-Early life:Crouse was born in New York City, the daughter of Anna and Russel Crouse, a playwright. Her full name—Lindsay Ann Crouse—is an intentional tribute to the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Her father and his writing partner, Howard Lindsay, wrote much of...
.
Goldberg and Hall stated that they included in the script several fictionalized accounts of events that had happened to divorced friends of theirs.
Also acting in the film were
Jayne BrookJayne Brook is an American actress, known for her role as Dr. Diane Grad on the medical drama Chicago Hope. She appeared on the series from 1995 to 1999.-Early life:...
, and
Ed FlandersEdward Paul Flanders was an American actor best known for his role as Dr. Donald Westphall in the television series St. Elsewhere.- Biography :...
in his last movie role. A not-yet-famous
Jack BlackJack Black , is an American actor and musician, notably of Tenacious D.Jack Black may also refer to:* Jack Black , late 19th - early 20th Century author and hobo* Jack Black , drummer for 70s UK punk band The Boys...
has one line ("Reefer?") as a disc jockey at a party.
The film's soundtrack includes performances by
Linda RonstadtLinda Ronstadt is an American popular music vocalist and entertainer. Her many vocal styles in a variety of genres have resonated with the general public over the course of her four-decade career...
,
The ProclaimersThe Proclaimers are a Scottish band composed of identical twin brothers, Charlie and Craig Reid . They are best known for the songs "Letter from America", "I'm On My Way", and "I'm Gonna Be ".-Career:...
,
Mary Chapin CarpenterMary Chapin Carpenter is an American folk and country music artist. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C. clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer...
,
Ben TaylorBen Taylor is a musician and actor. He is the son of James Taylor and Carly Simon. His sister, Sally Taylor, is also a musician....
, Everly Brothers and
Jackson BrowneClyde Jackson Browne is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician. His political interest and personal angst have been central to his career, resulting in popular songs such as "Somebody's Baby", "These Days", "The Pretender" and "Running On Empty"...
.
Reception
The film was not considered particularly successful, grossing less than $13 million in the U.S. in its theatrical run. It has a 16% rating at
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films. The name derives from the historical cliché of throwing tomatoes and other produce at stage performers if a performance was particularly bad.- History :...
. Although overall critical reaction to the film was not positive,
Janeane GarofaloJaneane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist, writer, and former co-host on Air America Radio's The Majority Report...
's performance as the "date from hell" got good reviews, and earned her a nomination for an American Comedy Award. Many of the reviews complained that the movie played more like an episode of a sitcom than a feature film.
It was released on
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
in February 2005.
Characters
The story focuses on three divorced fathers and lifelong friends: Dave Goldman (Modine), Vic Damico (Quaid), and Donny Carson (Reiser).
Dave is the father of two children: Ben (
Ross MalingerRoss Aaron Malinger is an American actor who co-starred as Jonah Baldwin in the 1993 romantic film Sleepless In Seattle. He starred in the 1997 comedy Toothless, along with Kirstie Alley, portraying the second main character of the film...
) and Michelle (
Mae WhitmanMae Margaret Whitman is an American television, movie and voice actress. Her best known voice work at this point is as the voice of Katara in the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and American Dragon: Jake Long as Rose/Huntsgirl.-Biography:Mae Whitman was born in Los Angeles,...
). Dave dates Kim (
Maria PitilloMaria Pitillo is an American actress who has starred in several films; most notably as Audrey Timmonds in Godzilla. She also made an appearance on the TV series Providence....
), a woman much younger than he. This does not make his ex-wife Susan (Brenneman) happy, nor do his children care for Kim all that much. He also does not realize there are some underlying problems in his relationship with Kim. Dave's profession is not specified, but he may be a professor or a doctor. He appears to be the wealthiest of the three friends.
Vic (Quaid) is a wrestling coach/driver's education teacher. He is the father to Meg, Jed, and toddler Lindsay. Vic is more than happy to be divorced from his wife, Grace (
Lindsay Crouse-Early life:Crouse was born in New York City, the daughter of Anna and Russel Crouse, a playwright. Her full name—Lindsay Ann Crouse—is an intentional tribute to the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Her father and his writing partner, Howard Lindsay, wrote much of...
). He assumes that she spends the
child supportIn family law and government policy, child support or child maintenance is the ongoing obligation for a periodic payment made directly or indirectly by an to an for the financial care and support of children of a relationship or marriage that has been terminated, or in some cases never existed...
on herself. Vic is also not a big fan of her boyfriend, Gerald.
Donny is a real estate agent and has a teenage daughter, Emma (Dushku). Emma is more interested in hooking up with teenage McDonald's employee, Max Cooper (
Johnny WhitworthJohnny Whitworth is an American actor.His early years were spent in his birth place of Charleston, South Carolina, with his mother. When he grew older, he moved to Dallas, Texas with his father . At age 15/16 in 1991, he won the 1st Young and Modern Man Contest...
), than spending time with her father. Donny always feels ex-wife Claire (
Jayne BrookJayne Brook is an American actress, known for her role as Dr. Diane Grad on the medical drama Chicago Hope. She appeared on the series from 1995 to 1999.-Early life:...
) will come back to him. He also feels he is in competition with Emma's rich stepfather, Phil (
Brad HallWilliam Brad Hall is an American writer and actor, best known as a Saturday Night Live news anchor on Saturday Night News...
), who has more than provided for Claire and Emma. Donny's closest ally through all of this is Susan, to whom he is secretly attracted.
Other supporting characters in the film include: Dr. David Townsend (Reiner), a radio therapist whom the three fathers listen to regularly; Walter Sims (Flanders), a retired auto worker who works at McDonald's and forms a friendship with Max; and Lucille (Garofalo), a woman who Vic takes out on a blind date and finds out she has multiple issues with everything.
Trivia: The characters Meg and Emma are played by
Amber BensonAmber Nicole Benson is an American actress, writer, film director, and film producer. She is best known for her role as Tara Maclay on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and directing, starring and producing her own films Chance, Lovers, Liars & Lunatics and the upcoming film Drones.-Early...
and
Eliza DushkuEliza Patricia Dushku is an American actress who has appeared in several Hollywood movies such as True Lies, The New Guy, Bring It On, Wrong Turn and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back...
respectively. Both these actresses went on to play main roles on the television series
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as did
Lindsay Crouse-Early life:Crouse was born in New York City, the daughter of Anna and Russel Crouse, a playwright. Her full name—Lindsay Ann Crouse—is an intentional tribute to the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Her father and his writing partner, Howard Lindsay, wrote much of...
. While Benson shared episodes with both Dushku and Crouse, the three actresses never spoke lines to or were featured in the same scenes as each other.