The Goodbye Girl (2004)

I have not read the play, nor have I seen the original movie, but I liked this quite a lot. The opening half hour or so was rough going, with way more soap opera drama than anything else. But after that first half hour, it began to pick up and became rather a sweet movie with characters I was warming to. The little girl was fairly annoying all the way through, alternately too precocious and too young, always too sappily sweet. But the story isn't about her, it's about the adults, both of which became well-developed characters toward the end and made it a satisfying movie, if not great by any means. 4 stars.