Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Well this right here is an underrated comedy if you've ever, ever known about one. I mean it's ridiculous it would get a 6point average, whoever those fans voting possibly are.It's absolutely excellent as a comedy in that it contains all the necessary criteria a said top notch comedy needs to have.The concept was original and superbly well carried out from the opening moments to the very last scene. The funny factor that is generated at the very start never lets down, it's a continuous high-bar level maintained to the conclusion. The humor is dark, terribly dark at times but never complacently edgy or cynical, it's healthy but really really nasty and dark. There's an element of (the later show) Seinfeld in the dialog in how they'll pick a totally random topic and stretch it out, as if it mattered at all and deserved so much airtime in an official release. The film is so at ease at what it does, it's got this totally natural rhythm, lots of twists and turns and superb command over changes in gear, and it never feels too random or over-the-top, it's always centered, grounded, self-identified, strong humor and narrative development.The Charles Grodin character is especially hilarious.The disruptive factor (Iris' problems with men) is genuine and terribly realistic, and yet given so much volume and sits so well in the plot and doesn't feel like an old familiar relationship problem chorus dragged on forever.Excellent comedy. It must be said. 8.5 or 9/10.

I went back to see this one after years and years. How does it hold up? It is pretty good but it has a weak ending. So many classic parts that any person who has found themselves alone has experienced will recognize. My wife and I laughed out loud at the first half. We both dated as adults and have had the feeling that you will never find anyone that makes sense. People will try anything to find the "one". You can find the one, but you won't know until you find them. That doesn't make sense to someone who has not found the "one" but once you do you will be satisfied. By the end though we were not invested in the characters enough and started fading out. Worth the watch. Steve Martin is a genius.

With a poll coming up on IMDbs Classic Film board for the best titles of 1984 I started to search around in my DVD folders,and I spotted a Steve Martin film which appeared to be really over looked,which led to me getting ready to find out how lonely things could be.The plot:Getting thrown out by his girlfriend Danielle, Larry Hubbard finds himself joining a growing part of society called "The lonely guy" which is men/women who don't have any friend/family/partner and spend all their time completely on their own.Meeting fellow lonely guy Warren Evans,Hubbard starts getting into the lonely guy lifestyle,from buying a plant who he can talk to,to getting cardboard cut-outs of celebrities who he can "invite" round for parties.Whilst Evans accepts his place in society,Hubbard decides that he must try to be the lonely guy who loses his loneliness.View on the film:In the first half of their adaptation of Bruce Jay Friedman's novel The Lonely Guy's Book of Life,writers Neil Simon/Stan Daniels & Ed. Weinberger give the screenplay a witty,fast-pace sketch Comedy outline,with Hubbard learning the lonely guy lifestyle step by step,from pretending to be a food critic in order to eat on his own,to buying "lonely sweat" in the hope of catching the eyes of a lonely girl.Whilst the second half's focus on Hubbard's attempts to get out of the lifestyle does lead to the film slowing down,the writers make sure to keep the laughs rolling with a jet-black Comedy edge,which goes from lonely guys all using the same suicide bridge,to a lonely howl on the rooftops.Given a misty Fantasy backdrop by director Arthur Hiller,Steve Martin gives an excellent performance as Larry Hubbard,with Martin making sure that no matter how left-field Hubbard's antics are,that Hubbard is always grounded with a desire to get rid of his loneliness.Joining Martin, Charles Grodin gives a hilarious performance as Warren Evans,who Grodin shows to be extremely uncomfortable in his own skin,whilst the pretty Judith Ivey gives some sassy charm as Iris,as Hubbard discovers how lonely things can get.

Steve Martin finds himself transported into the world of the Lonely Guy when he finds his wife in bed with another man and she kicks poor old Martin out.Martin makes a new best friend in Charles Grodin, another lonely guy. Grodin teaches Martin about the world New York's lonely guy's and together they each try to find a new love.It's well played by both Martin & Grodin, there are some good gags and very amusing moments in the fist hour of the film. For the last 20 minutes or so it becomes a bit less fun and feels a little bit like it's dragging.I was hoping to see a great comedy performance from Grodin, who I recently discovered via his excellent performance in Taking Care of Business (he was the only good thing about that film) but here his character was very subdued and didn't really have any funny lines. Not his fault, obviously, but feels like a bit of a waste of talent.Decent film over all, which I will enjoy re-watching at some point in the future.