Funny and touching, 1995's BYE BYE LOVE chronicles one long weekend in the lives of three divorced dads, their ex-spouses kids and dates.
The three buddies are Dave (Matthew Modine) with two young children, a beautiful young girlfriend and a wandering eye; Randy Quaid as Vic, whose three kids are encouraging him to date again and Danny (Paul Reiser) currently suffering through the teen years with his daughter.
For anyone that's been through a divorce, there are a lot of details the film gets right, including the drop off and pick up and trying to find the right blend for all the players to get along.
But writers Gary David Goldberg & Brad Hall (Family Ties, Lou Grant) (Frasier, Watching Ellie) know how to craft a feature length version of a sitcom.
Quaid's dinner with blind-date-from-Hell Janine Garofalo is a hilarious standout. Garofalo's never been better than she is here, battling with a waiter as Quaid deadpans his responses.
Dave's Saturday night with every woman he's dated or dating showing up at once is well structured, with laughs and awkwardness piling up in equal measure.
Rob Reiner lands a funny running bit as a marital advice radio show host whose commentary weaves through the weekend.
Most of the drama side of the film is saved for Reiser and he handles it well, keeping the schtick to a minimum.
The soundtrack is loaded with great music, including songs from Jackson Browne, The Everly Brothers, Mary Chapin Carpenter, CSNY and Linda Ronstadt.
The mid 90's yacht rock floats you enjoyable through this mild but enjoyable movie that's a pretty decent blend of laughs and heart.
BYE BYE LOVE gets a B.
Garofalo and Quaid deserved their own movie!
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