# "The Goodbye Girl" -why did they do a remake? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 25, 2006, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goodbye-girl-why-did-they-do-a-remake/358232 "2006-05-25T19:23:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goodbye-girl-why-did-they-do-a-remake/358232/1 "2006-05-25T19:23:12Z")
I was a guest at somebody’s house, and the TV was on in the background, but I wasn’t watching it closely. But I know the movie “The Goodbye Girl”, and this sure looked like the good ol’ movie that I likedl. So I pay a bit more attention, and realize that the actors are not the same. Then I start watching more closely, and as far as I can tell , it is an _exact_ clone of the original movie. Nothing was changed–every line, every scene–it all seemed identical to what I remembered. So what’s the point? Why not just re-release the original movie? Why spend millions of $ to do nothing new? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goodbye-girl-why-did-they-do-a-remake/358232/2 "2006-05-25T19:32:27Z")
Take out “The Goodbye Girl” and substitute “Psycho” and you have another good thread. Maybe moviemakers just need work, and can’t be bothered to find new scripts and direction. ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goodbye-girl-why-did-they-do-a-remake/358232/3 "2006-05-25T22:36:14Z")
Are you talking about that movie with Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn? They are breaking up but neither of them wants to move out of their condo and, uh, um…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz… ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goodbye-girl-why-did-they-do-a-remake/358232/4 "2006-05-25T23:12:41Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > So what’s the point? Why not just re-release the original movie? Why spend millions of $ to do nothing new? Don’t you think it’s important to give starving actors like, er, uh, Patricia Heaton a chance to make some money so they can pay the rent? ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goodbye-girl-why-did-they-do-a-remake/358232/5 "2006-05-25T23:53:22Z")
_The Goodbye Girl_ was remade as a TNT TV-movie in 2004. IMDb lists the leads as Jeff Daniels and Patricia Heaton. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goodbye-girl-why-did-they-do-a-remake/358232/6 "2006-05-26T00:16:33Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > _The Goodbye Girl_ was remade as a TNT TV-movie in 2004. IMDb lists the leads as Jeff Daniels and Patricia Heaton. Yeah…um…Jeff Daniels I can see, but Heaton? Nah. Just not believable. And yes, I saw the show. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goodbye-girl-why-did-they-do-a-remake/358232/7 "2006-05-26T01:33:11Z")
1. Many people have _no_ interest in seeing a 20 year old movie. Especially young people. They don’t want to see it on TV so forget theaters entirely. It doesn’t matter how great the movie is. So almost all movies are viewed as having a very limited lifetime now. (In the 1950-60s era, any old movie from the 1930s was valued for TV filler. Now even the great ones hardly see any airtime on “classic movie” basic cable channels.) This is a very sad statement about the state of US “culture.” 1. If the script, etc. worked before, it’s gotta work again, right? Hahahaha. See the aforementioned “Psycho” example. Can’t even do a shot-for-shot remake well. This is not new. There are films like “A Star is Born” that were remade many times before Babs got her hands on it. 1. The solution is just to write new and inventive stories instead. Hahahahahahah… ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goodbye-girl-why-did-they-do-a-remake/358232/8 "2006-05-26T19:26:26Z")
Since this was a made-for-TV movie, I guess the reason is: good way to get ratings without having to write a new script. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goodbye-girl-why-did-they-do-a-remake/358232/9 "2006-05-26T21:14:44Z")
Neil Simon wrote it. Its not going to get changed. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goodbye-girl-why-did-they-do-a-remake/358232/10 "2006-05-26T21:15:44Z")
Neil Simon needed the money? ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goodbye-girl-why-did-they-do-a-remake/358232/11 "2006-05-26T21:27:52Z")
They did change one bit of “stage business” When Marcia Mason locked Richard Dreyfus out of the apartment that first night, he had no choice but to run to the nearest phone booth. But in 2004 why would Jeff Daniels go out in the rain, unless he _oops_ dropped and broke his cell phone. That scene just made me go “oy!” Neither actor was right for those parts. And the daughter - so wooden. Awful casting. Just hideous. I can understand remaking the movie, even without major updates (just pluggin in current prices for rent, groceries, etc) but at least get actors who understand the subtle comedy of Simon’s works. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goodbye-girl-why-did-they-do-a-remake/358232/12 "2006-05-26T21:29:03Z")
> [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > Neil Simon needed the money? more likely he needed the exposure ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goodbye-girl-why-did-they-do-a-remake/358232/13 "2006-05-27T01:27:39Z")
> [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > Neil Simon needed the money? Needed, no. Wanted, quite possibly. [After all, that wasn’t the first time he’s done an recent adaptation](http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=4706)