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Goodbye Girl — David Gates
Given how popular the movie was on its release in 1977, I’m surprised “The Goodbye Girl” is so seldom heard of these days.
It’s not even like it was a niche-interest art house film. It was written by Neil Simon, one of the leading playwrights of his day. And starred Marsha Mason, a four-times Academy Award nominee and one of the leading actresses of her generation.
Not only that, the leading man, Richard Dreyfuss, won an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for his performance. And “The Goodbye Girl” was the first rom-com to gross over $100 million at the box office.
As if all that wasn’t enough, it’s also got a scene that always brings a tear to my eye. More on that in a moment.
All-in-all, “The Goodbye Girl” had almost everything you could wish for in a movie. Which makes its relative obscurity nowadays even more puzzling.
But the main reason for mentioning “The Goodbye Girl” around here is that it has a wonderful theme song, written by David Gates, who is probably best known for his time with Bread.
Bread was very successful during the 1970s, with songs like “If”, “Make It With You”, “Baby, I’m-a Want You” and “Lost Without Your Love”, all written by David Gates.
But, as is often the case, “creative differences” and personal rivalries can get in…
