Goodbye, Columbus (1969)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Larry Peerce

Writers:

Philip Roth (novel)
Arnold Schulman (writer)

Release Date:

21 May 1969 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Every father's daughter is a virgin.

Plot:

A Jewish man and a jewish woman meet and while attracted to each other find that their worlds are very different...

Plot Keywords:

Jewish | Skinny Dipping | Nose Job | Librarian | Library Card

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Richard Benjamin	...	Neil Klugman
Ali MacGraw	...	Brenda Patimkin
Jack Klugman	...	Ben Patimkin
Nan Martin	...	Mrs. Ben Patimkin
Michael Meyers	...	Ron Patimkin
Lori Shelle	...	Julie Patimkin
Monroe Arnold	...	Uncle Leo
Kay Cummings	...	Doris Klugman
Sylvie Strause	...	Aunt Gladys
Royce Wallace	...	Carlotta
Anthony McGowan	...	Boy in Library
Mari Gorman	...	Laura Simpson Sockaloe
Chris Schenkel	...	Voice on Columbus Record (voice)
Jay Jostyn	...	Voice on Columbus Record (voice)
Jan Peerce	...	Uncle Manny

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:18 | USA:PG (re-rating) (1972) | USA:R (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:Btl | Ireland:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Willow Tree

Trivia:

Jaclyn Smith's film debut.

Goofs:

Factual errors: At the dinner table, Julie is told that it is earlier in Columbus, where Harriet is calling from, than where she lives in New York. In fact both cities are in the same Eastern Standard Time Zone. In the book, Harriet is calling from Milwaukee in the Central Time Zone, which is correct. However, when the screenplay changed her location to Columbus, the writer failed to realize this fact and change the dialog or the city.

Quotes:

Neil Klugman: [discussing birth control] What do you take?
Brenda Patimkin: Nothing. Turn off the water.
Neil Klugman: Nothing?
Brenda Patimkin: Listen, I tried the pills, but they made me fat and made me sick, and besides every single day you read something new about them in the paper, so I decided I was better off with nothing.
Neil Klugman: [pause] Brenda, I'd like to talk to you about nothing.

Movie Connections:

Features "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962)

Soundtrack:

It's Gotta Be Real

Philip Roth's continuing saga of Jewish neurosis

"Goodbye, Columbus" was one of two Richard Benjamin movies based on Philip Roth novels about Jewish angst (the other was "Portnoy's Complaint"). In "Goodbye, Columbus", Benjamin plays Neil Klugman, a Jewish librarian who strikes up a relationship with Jewish American Princess Brenda Patimkin (Ali MacGraw). When he meets her family, they don't like him because he's not a physician or anything like that.

I don't know for sure what you're supposed to notice most when watching this movie, but what really caught my attention was how undesirable Brenda's family was. Aside from how they dismiss Neil, they just shout at their servants. Brenda's family quite literally consists of worthless human beings. Brenda herself isn't much better. But, some people are really like that. Regardless of whether or not this could be a period piece, it's good to know that there is a movie which shows what certain people are like.