---
title: "The Goodbye Girl: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-goodbye-girl/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-goodbye-girl"
critics_score: 56
critics_reviews: 7
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Goodbye Girl (1977): what the critics said

Critics' score 56 from 7 reviews: 4 positive, 1 mixed, 2 negative.

## Empire — Caroline Westbrook

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. 

The film is best remembered for its cracking Neil Simon screenplay. Marsha Mason and Richard Dreyfuss form a memorable duo in this joyful reminder of a romantic comedy genre.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/goodbye-girl-review/)

## Time Out

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. 

This is a classy Broadway sitcom adaptation written by Neil Simon. Mason and Dreyfuss bring comic panache and vitality to the reluctant cohabitants, though the film flags once they get together.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-goodbye-girl)

## Variety — Variety Staff

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1976. 

The review praises the offbeat romantic casting of Dreyfuss and vibrant Mason as lovers in spite of themselves. It highlights strong performances from the leads and supporting cast in the Neil Simon script about reluctant roommates falling in love.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1976/film/reviews/the-goodbye-girl-1200423881/)

## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 1977. 

Ebert finds the film funny overall with its heart in the right place but notes unacknowledged complications and an unsympathetic female lead. He praises Richard Dreyfuss's performance and some later scenes while criticizing the first hour.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-goodbye-girl-1977)

## The New Yorker — Pauline Kael

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 16 January 1978. 

Kael dislikes the film's forced snappiness and two-liners, calling out Neil Simon's writing and the defensive, hostile lead character. She notes Dreyfuss brings the only moments of substance but finds the role demeaning.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1978/01/16/the-current-cinema-56)

## The New York Times — Vincent Canby

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 1977. 

Canby finds the film exhausting and not much fun, criticizing its relentless wisecracks that make it seem rude to its own characters. He notes the performances keep things afloat early on but the script undermines the characters.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1977/12/01/archives/film-goodbye-girl-full-of-wisecracks.html)

## Collider — Liam Gaughan

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 21 February 2026. 

The Goodbye Girl is a pretty old-fashioned romantic comedy that nonetheless became a major contender at the Academy Awards because it simply hit all the notes right. It set a record at the Academy Awards because Richard Dreyfuss became the youngest actor to ever win the Oscar for Best Actor.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/best-1977-movies-classics/)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-goodbye-girl.md