How she got nominated for an Oscar is beyond me. She sounded so damn fake, and she wasn't all that attractive so she didn't get the part due to looks, either. Must be embarrassing when a 10-year-old (Quinn Cummings) is so much better. And Dreyfuss deserved his Oscar.
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I wouldn't say she was awful, but she virtually had just two expressions, physically and verbally - shrill and robotic. I also agree with Roger Ebert who said the character is played and written too unsympathetically and I definitely feel Simon made the wrong choice in casting her, his wife at the time. And what is strange is that he said she could play it more 'real' than else, which I find quite disingenous.
This is definitely the weakest performance I've seen from anyone nominated for Best Actress.
I always thought that she was terrible because this is a play and she is a stage actress, thus overly animated, loud, gesture-ridden.
shareHey folks,
For me, it was Paula who was awful. Marsha Mason was very good at playing the awful Paula. I even cared about Paula in spite of the fact that I would have wanted to get away from her as soon as I met her. Mason was not awful. She was acting the part of Paula who was awful. Could someone else have also played Paula? Certainly. That's what acting is.
Best wishes,
Dave Wile
Bingo parks
shareThe Goodbye Girl was not a play.
shareshe virtually had just two expressions, physically and verbally - shrill and robotic
Neil Simon was the whole reason for any of her lead roles.
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3 of her 4 Oscarยฎ noms were for performances in Simon written films. Saw THE GOODBYE GIRL, for the first time yesterday and not all that impressed. Mason comes across as too phoney for my tastes. Haven't seen CINDERELLA LIBERTY, so can't comment here. Some of it may be the dialogue and have enjoyed a few Simon written films; but not really a fan. She reminded me a little of Ellen Burystn here; but more over-reactive and less revealing.
There were 2 female performances that were not nominated, that I preferred and feel were more deserving out of all the nominees for 1977. Shelly Duvall in 3 WOMEN & Diane Keaton in LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR. Mason's performance here, doesn't hold a candle to these.
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Parks (above) hit it on the head. it's a stage performance, a "stagey" performance even. It's not the character that's awful, it's just poor movie acting. Dreyfus really makes her look amateurish - he is as sharp as a tack and the movie shifts into a different gear when he's onscreen. His is one of the funniest screen performances I have ever seen.
Awight we're The Daamned we're a punk baand and this is called Carn't Be Appy T'day!
It's a typical normal Marsha Mason role, playing a neurotic ditzy airhead. And I believe 'Heartbreak Ridge' was not a Simon vehicle where she played Clint Eastwood's ex-wife.
Simon might have been the key for her various movie roles, but she has worked since they broke up, read her IMD'b profile page. And it's not like she has to work either, once actress' get a certain age they do not get many offers.
I liked this movie because she played off Dreyfus so well, I love movie or TV shows where the 2 leads bicker back and forth.
She got the part because her husband is Neil Simon
and yes she was awful
She played an awful character, as in Chapter II. Needy, annoying woman who shares her anxieties with her young child. Show a little control!!
shareby gizmomogwai ยป Tue Jun 7 2011 20:33:23
IMDb member since July 2006
How she got nominated for an Oscar is beyond me. She sounded so damn fake, and she wasn't all that attractive so she didn't get the part due to looks, either. Must be embarrassing when a 10-year-old (Quinn Cummings) is so much better. And Dreyfuss deserved his Oscar.
Marsha was brilliant. Everything was brilliant in this movie. Perfection.
shareIt was a good film.
sharePeople on this board don't seem to realize we are supposed to dislike Paula and then start to like her as Elliot does.
"'Extremely High Voltage.' Well, I don't need safety gloves, because I'm Homer SimpsonzzzzzzzZZZZZzzzzz--" - Frank Grimes
People on this board don't seem to be able to see with 1970s eyes & values (or other eras for that matter) and look through the lens of the millennium and all its non-values.
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