Goodbye Lover

Goodbye Lover (1998): If you like dark comedies with double and triple crossings, this flick is for you. Starring Don Johnson, Patricia Arquette, Dermot Mulroney, Mary-Louise Parker, and with Ellen DeGeneres as the most cynical cop ever to cross the street in L.A., the movie is just enough off center to keep your interest. And Ms. Arquette gets to wear a number of outrageous outfits in her role as a real estate agent with plans to better her life. The story goes something like this, Ms. Arquette is married to the alcoholic Dermot who works at an agency with his successful brother (Don Johnson) who is doing the dance of the two humped camel with Ms. Arquette. The brothers work with the talented Mary-Louise and cross purposes start to set in. Johnson tries to dump Arquette for Parker and, well it gets kind of complicated from there on out. You have to search long and hard to find a character without ulterior motives in this film. The only really decent character is the goober side-kick of DeGeneres played by Ray McKinnon. He sets up the best line in the movie by asking DeGeneres why she works so hard to solve murders if she hates everyone so much. She smilingly replies, “Because once in a while I get to shoot someone.” I liked this flick and you may enjoy it too. The movie is rated R for: rampant immorality, rampant sexuality, rampant thighs, rampant murder, organ playing, shopping on Rodeo Drive, and the lack of a moral compass of almost everyone in the movie.