Philip Roth's novel of Jewish identity and assimilation in the suburbs of New York gets a spirited comic reading in this 1969 film, which marked the acting debut of model Ali McGraw (and who thought that was a good idea?). Actually, she's pretty good as the Jewish princess whose father has made a fortune in plumbing supplies. Richard Benjamin, who went on to become an odd sex symbol of the '70s, had just the right comic twist as the young man who can't overcome McGraw's middle-class morality with his sense of passion and romance. Jack Klugman is outstanding as her hard-driving and unyieldding father. A touchstone film. --Marshall Fine Amazon.com
I think that I have only seen this movie twice in my entire lifetime and I
could barely remember any of it. So I rented the dvd and I must say that I
really enjoyed it. Some of the neighborhoods looked familiar(I've lived in
the Bronx for over thirty years)and I would love to know where in the Bronx it was filmed because I love that library!
The ending of this film has always left me a bit puzzled; but I would love to have had "Brenda's" carefree life for just one day. Seeing this movie really took me back, and I actually found it strange not to see a single cell phone. I hope I passed the audition. Peace.
May 2, 2008Goodbye, Columbus seems on the surface like a sweet, inconsequential tale. And maybe that's all it is. But reading it tapped some really nice pleasure zone in me that made me feel good while and after I read it. Who's to argue with that?
Part of its specialness was that as a young man I worked in Newark near the Library in the same general time period as this novel. I didn't much like the regimented boredom of adult life and responsibility, so I used to frequent the library (even when I was supposed to be busily working at Prudential Insurance Company) where the protagonist of Goodbye, Columbus worked. I was able to remember the marble staircase and the main reading room fondly and vividly based on Roth's evocative descriptions.
The book is hard to analyze and critique. It has lots of humorous and charming characters; everyone is a little kooky and flawed, just as in real life. But there is no evil to be seen anywhere.
The romantic plot just drifts along in a realistic way, and the hero is almost transparent, featureless, better allowing the reader to directly enter into the experience themselves. I rarely give 5 stars, but would to this book, except that I wonder if part of my especial appreciation of it was based on how well it evoked my own similar Jewish girlfriend and Newark experiences.
January 28, 2008 |  | Fine Adaptation of Roth Novel |  |
Watching "Goodbye, Columbus" for the first time I flashed back to my sophomore year at Temple University when I was still undeclared. I took an American Lit class taught by an inspiring professor whose name unfortunately escapes me. His course offerings were a veritable stew of literary styles. I recall reading Henry James' "Daisy Miller" which spawned an underrated film by Peter Bogdanovich. I also recall reading Thomas Berger's "Neighbors" starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd that was generally reviled by the critics(I liked it, though). My impressions of "Goodbye, Columbus" is it is painstakingly faithful to Philip Roth's novella. Your opinion of the film I think depends on how much you liked the book. I like the film and the book. My only quibble here is that the principal actors, though ideally cast, may have been a tad too old for their parts. Richard Benjamin is superb as the Bronx librarian returning from a stint in the Army only to fall head over heels with a girl whose value system he finds contemptible. Ali MacGraw gives a sympathetic account of the spoiled preppie because you feel that she acts the way she does only because she's been programmed to do so. The attraction between the two is more than physical. Despite their protestations, Neil and Brenda possess character traits that the other finds desirable. The question you ask will the pull of their respective social classes accept this relationship or find it unacceptable and pull Neil and Brenda apart. The film is rich in Jewish color but the scenario that unfolds here could apply to any tightknit ethnic group. A real gem has been made here from a fine literary source.
August 3, 2007 | | Philip Roth, please speak up! | |
First, the film which was written and set in Newark, New Jersey and Livingston, New Jersey was replaced by the Bronx, New York and Westchester County, New York. The characters remain the same but the setting which I always find crucial in Roth's stories are often disregarded in favor of something more familiar. Brenda and Neil come from two different worlds. Richard Benjamin and Ali McGraw are both excellent as the young couple and make an impressive film debut in this film. Surprisingly, Susan Lucci has an uncredited role in the film. Nan Martin and Jack Klugman are excellent as Brenda's upscale parents. Just because Neil and Brenda are Jewish, doesn't mean that they don't have problems. They do because Neil is a poor Bronx librarian living with his aunt and uncle while Brenda is rich and lives in Westchester county with a housekeeper and multiple telephones in the house, a rarity in those days. The story remains intact but I would like to see Philip Roth talk about his novel made into a film. I think the author speaking out would have made me want to give five stars instead of four.
April 16, 2007I first saw this movie on HBO around 1990 and immediately took to it. It provides great insight into Jewish social sensibilities in Greater New York during the 1950s. The 2 principal actors, Richard Benjamin and Ali MacGraw, are well-suited for their respective roles. In the midst of a July-September romance, Neil and Brenda expose various prejudices, while trying to conform to expectations placed on them by their parents and by society. We all know that a rich Daddy's princess from Briarcliff Manor wouldn't really develop a serious romance with a poor boy from the Bronx, but it is still interesting to see her go through the motions. When the academic year returns, Brenda finds a convenient way to drop Neil without saying so much. This leaves her free to go back to Radcliffe to continue pursuing her MRS. degree.
March 25, 2007More reviews at Amazon.com ...
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