Awesome Movie

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

"Marry in haste, repent at leisure." Common expression, and perhaps one Neil Simon was thinking of when he wrote this autobiographical offering.George Schneider (James Caan) is a widowed writer who is becoming reclusive. His brother, Leo (Joseph Bologna), wants him to get back into the swim of life, so he gives him the phone number of Jennie MacLaine (Marsha Mason), a bubbly, divorced actress who is the best friend of his mistress, Faye Medwick (Valerie Harper). Improbably, George and Jennie hit it off, and enter into a whirlwind courtship, which leads very quickly to marriage. However, after they have married, the memory of his first wife causes George to withdraw from Jennie. Can their marriage survive? Do we want it to? It's an interesting script, in that you're swept along with a relationship that develops so fast it's out of control. And just when you think the happy ending is coming, a major problem develops. Simon certain knew the material, since he took it from his own life, but I think the ending is not as conclusive as he would like you to think it is. Along the way, though, it's an awful lot of fun.Mason carries this movie, and thankfully, she is more than equal to the task, giving us a fully developed portrait of a charming woman who knows herself, knows what she wants from a relationship, and isn't afraid to tell her husband when he isn't giving her what she needs. As for Caan, he gives his usual wooden performance, which works moderately well with his character, but still leaves you wondering why he was cast in the part. As supporting players, Bologna and Harper more than hold their own, and help fill in the void left by Caan.In spite of all its problems, this is a buoyant film, which is a joy to watch. Love may not be any easier the second time around, but Simon and Mason do manage to convince us that it's worth the ride.

Let's get this out of the way first. Marsha Mason is the type of actress that puts a great deal of herself into every part she plays. What Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow were to the writing skills of Woody Allen, Mason was to Neil Simon. An actress who possessed an instinct for the writers mind and interpreted his material better than anyone. In CHAPTER TWO, Mason is at her best when delivering clever Neil Simon one liners. And although she gives it her all, she cannot on her own be expected to put across some of the stickiest dialogue ever written by Neil Simon. Particularly the self righteous overly emotional speech at the end. Not even Meryl Streep could pull that one off !! Simon had written a similar speech for Mason in THE GOODBYE GIRL. About how the character likes herself now and how far she had come in her life and how grown up and wonderful she feels. Mason should have put her foot down with this monologue in CHAPTER TWO. There is no way short of a miracle that any actor can pull gooey dialogue off like that without setting nervousness up in the viewer. This is not to say that Neil Simon has failed with this piece. Some of his words hit a nice autobiographic mark and I like the confessional speech that George (James Caan) gives about all the reasons why he resents marriage the second time around. It's too bad Caan never becomes the part. He's so wooden and uncomfortable in this. Not as the character, but as an actor who can't find his way through the part. Caan looks to Mason knowing she's carrying the weight of the picture and he's hoping her performance will carry him too. The chemistry between them doesn't jell the way it did in Cinderella LIBERTY. Probably due to some of the icky dialogue displayed here. Fortunately there's top notch supporting work by Valerie Harper and Joseph Bologna. Both are at the top of their game here. Simon seems to have written the best scenes for them. While I can forgive Robert Moore's soapy direction, I cannot for my life excuse the awful music score. Indicative of most music in movies between the decade of 1976 through 1986. Inappropriate and sappy in the worst sense.Why would anyone want to be in love after watching this picture and hearing it's sticky music? The feeling of this movie is like one of those old butter commercials with the two lovers running in slow motion towards each other. I must admit to feeling lonely before watching CHAPTER TWO. After it was over I was extremely happy that I was not in a relationship and quite content to be single for a while. Thanks Neil !!

Autobiographical comedy/drama by Neil Simon. In it a recent widower George Schneider (James Caan) meets and falls in love with a recent divorcee Jennie MacLaine (Marsha Mason). He marries her quickly, but realizes he hasn't gotten completely over his first wife. Is her love for him enough to see them through?This was based on the real troubles Simon had when he married Mason in the early 1970s. He got over them (not completely though--they divorced in 1981) and wrote "Chapter Two" for the stage. I never saw it on the stage but I remember seeing this movie up the theatre back in 1980. I loved it (with reservations) back then and I still love it (with reservations) now.The dialogue is virtual non-stop one-liners--real people don't talk like that but it is fun and entertaining to listen to. The dramatic sequences work well especially with Mason giving her all to what must have been a very difficult role for her to play. She's just tremendous (and drop-dead gorgeous) and was understandably nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for this role (she lost to Sally Field for "Norma Rae"). The film looks beautiful, moves fairly quickly and there's nice strong support from Joseph Bologna and (especially) Valerie Harper...but there's one big problem. James Caan. He's a wonderful DRAMATIC actor...NOT comedic. He seems very uncomfortable playing a mild-mannered grieving man, and the poor guy has no comedic timing and doesn't know how to tell a joke--most of his lines fall flat. With a better leading man I might have given it a 10. As it is this is a strong 9. Worth catching...especially for Mason.

This agonizing comedy-drama got surprisingly sterling reviews upon its release in 1979. I remember opening the movie-section of the L.A. Times and looking at a 2-page advertisement for "Chapter Two" filled with glowing captions like: "Better than 'The Goodbye Girl'!" and "Neil Simon does it again!" What does Neil Simon do? He takes an autobiographical situation (remarrying too soon after the death of a beloved spouse) and makes it rusty, unpleasant and--worst of all--unfunny. James Caan plays Neil--er..that is, George--a writer who can't seem to get back into life after losing his wife; enter spirited Marsha Mason (real-life Mrs. Simon...soon to be ex-Mrs. Simon) who attempts to love George despite his moods and general melancholy. Mason is very appealing here and might've saved the day were it not for Caan's indifference (not to mention a sub-plot concerning painfully-thin, blonde Valerie Harper which brings the proceedings to a screeching halt). I liked Mason's outburst at the end ("I am wonderful! I am NUTS about me!"), but I saw no happy ending for these two people...and time proved me right. ** from ****