MODERN ROMANCE (1981)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Albert Brooks is sort of the West Coast answer to Woody Allen. Both are paranoid men with a cynical view of romance and women, always assuming the worst. In "Modern Romance," Brooks is no different as he stresses over his on/off girlfriend.
Brooks plays a hard-working film editor, Robert Cole, who lives alone. In the opening scene, he breaks up with his girlfriend, Mary (Kathryn Harrold), incorrectly assuming they need a change. As soon as Brooks arrives home, he realizes his mistake. Cole's best friend is his associate film editor, Jay (Bruno Kirby), whom he confides in with his troubling romance and consistent Quaalude fixation. It is an on/off again relationship between Cole and Mary and Mary can't stand it anymore - does Cole want a commitment or is he too afraid? Yet he obsesses over her deeply, dropping bouquets of flowers and stuffed animals at her doorstep. His obsession gets the best of him when he dates a former acquaintance in the movie's funniest scene. Cole drops his date off at her apartment after no more than five minutes of picking her up and proceeds to go to Mary's house for a visit. To call Cole relentless wouldn't be a moot point.
"Modern Romance" has its share of laughs but Brooks's Cole character may be hard to take for most people who are not weaned on Woody Allen. His paranoiac, endlessly confused character is not likable yet he is honest and hardly egotistical. He can't seem to make up his mind over love or Mary - does he really crave her or is he in love with the idea of being in love?
The movie has a few scenes that are out of kilter with its primary focus - the male's perspective of dating in the 1980's. A scene at a sporting goods store simply marks time (though it is mildly amusing and Brooks's real-life brother plays the insistent salesman). The making of the sci-fi movie-within-the-movie is a little stale, despite the beguiling presence of George Kennedy (Brooks would later mine riffs on Hollywood with more finesse in "The Muse").
"Modern Romance" is not the great film comedy that it could've been (certainly not as good as his debut "Real Life") but it was a step in the right direction for Albert Brooks. His neurosis was only starting to simmer.
Footnote: This movie came out in 1981, a time when Quaaludes and cocaine were not considered problematic drugs. In this movie, they are taken with restraint. If this movie was released today, you can be sure that Mary and Cole would have to check into rehab. My, how times have changed.
