(1995)
1.5
Karl Williams
One third of this turgid mess of a domestic melodrama is a funny, brutally honest examination of the modern dating scene for a single divorced man, while the rest is a bogus and shallow attempt to gloss over a serious subject with artificially lighthearted whimsy. While stars Paul Reiser and Matthew Modine are likable performers and each has previously turned in notable performances, the superficial screenplay for this should-have-been-a-TV-movie comedy-drama lacks the sort of penetrating insight that would allow actors to breathe recognizable life into a character. While tackling divorce from the subject of the newly single father is a commendable and solid idea for a movie, the film misses the target -- from its goofy, marketing-decision of a title on down. Only when the authentically enraged character portrayed by Randy Quaid appears onscreen does the film come to startling life, tapping into the very real anger and trauma of divorce and milking both for savage laughs. If the rest of Bye Bye, Love had only endeavored to be so genuine, it might have been a classic comedy.
Bye Bye, Love on AllMovie
Bye Bye, Love (1995)
