Written by Albert Brooks and Monica McGowan Johnson
Directed by Albert Brooks
Modern Romance is now almost thirty years old. And yet, with all the ways the title implies speaking about romance of the early eighties, we are still living in relatively the same world. Robert Cole (Albert Brooks) is a film editor in Hollywood. He is neurotic and jealous when it comes to love. As the film opens, he is sitting down to dinner with his girlfriend Mary (Kathryn Harrold) and just has to get something off his chest. He tells her that he just can’t be with her anymore, despite how much they like each other. Her reply is to the effect of “you’re breaking up with me again?”
So begins the cycle of Robert dealing with being single once more. He goes through every stage imaginable of trying to move on, from drug use to taking up running to making plans with another woman. And at every step he buckles, just wanting to be back with Mary. It is in this way that we are given a picture of the cycle that these two lovers must have gone through before our story begins (and how they will probably continue forever). In a sense, it’s “love means having to no longer be together”.
If there is a main fault, it’s that it spends so much time dwelling on Robert’s job as an editor. While these scenes are often hilarious and as true to life as any other part of the film, they seem to be off topic from the main crux of his relationship with Mary (though the two do intertwine at times). What this adds up to is inside jokes that those of us who care about what goes on behind the scenes of a crappy movie can appreciate, but not much else. This is a recurring problem for Brooks, who seems to always put his characters in some kind of filmmaker job. While it’s nice that he writes what he knows, as the old adage goes, I can’t help but think that Robert Cole could have benefited from a more “Middle America” type of occupation.
The film is very funny. Every moment has a grounded reality to it, and yet we are laughing. Sure it’s still a movie and there are “sweetened” instances that go beyond what a person may truly do, but on the whole I think everyone has gone through or seen someone who has gone through similar trials. One of the best moments is when Robert picks up his date for the evening, trying to get over Mary. He apologizes for the fact he is just getting over a long relationship and reassures her that he is still looking forward to having a great time as they get into his car. The camera is mounted to the hood of the car so we are watching their faces as he drives off down the street away from her apartment, the rest of the world an out of focus blur behind them. Silently, Robert goes through a subtle transition on his face, one that doesn’t even reveal whether he’s happy to be going out or sad to be without Mary. Then, after an extended period of time, he stops the car and we cut to reveal the car is back in front of his date’s apartment building. It is such a great gag and it is delivered so well in the language of cinema. There is a constant flow of these jokes that deliver on their setup. The finale of the film is one, and even though I saw it coming a mile away, I still laughed audibly.
Albert Brooks seems to have been overlooked as a “west coast Woody Allen” and this movie in particular is considered his ‘Annie Hall’. But while there are similarities in themes of struggling relationships and humor, I think it is a mistake to simply undercut what Brooks brings to the table. This is a film about decided indecisiveness more than anything else, and is something that has remained timeless for those of us who feel it. Legendary director Stanley Kubrick (The Shining, Full Metal Jacket) famously called Brooks after seeing the film asking him how he was able to pull off such a great movie on the theme of jealously (something he would try to explore with his last film, Eyes Wide Shut). Brooks’ response was that “The guy who did '2001' is asking me how I did something?”
***1/2 Three and a half stars - Worth watching
The film is available on DVD in rollercoaster-themed packaging that seems like false advertising, as there is no physical rollercoaster in the film. The trailer for this movie is not available on youtube, so enjoy this clip where Robert is trying to buy running shoes.
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