Seems Like Old Times

 Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn, and Charles Grodin star in Seems Like Old Times a 1980 comedy scripted by the legendary comic writer Neil Simon about an upper middle class couple in which the husband is about to be named California Attorney General while they are dealing with the fallout of the wife’s ex-husband forced involvement in a bank robbery.  Chase plays Nick, a carefree journalist and writer who used to be married to Goldie Hawn’s Glenda, who is a public defender.  Grodin is Ira, Glenda’s second husband whose political ambitions are threatened Nick’s situation and actions.

Spoilers below:

In the 1980s Chevy Chase was by far my favorite comic actor.  Chase’s ability to mold his face, deliver perfectly timed dry one liners, and perform slapstick could easily put me in stitches. I have tried to stick to his classics and really enjoyed the Vacation films, Fletch, Foul Play and thought he was the funniest element of lesser films like Three Amigos and Spies Like Us (the slapstick he uses to cheat on a test in an early scene is hilarious).  Seems Like Old Times Oddly is often overlooked when discussing Chase’s classics and I think it is as funny as any of the others though it may be because this film has three leads and Chase probably has the least amount of screen time of the three.  A lot of the focus of the film is on the couple and Nick is the obstacle that keeps getting in between them.  Goldie Hawn had top billing and also had a big film that was released in 1980, Private Benjamin, which has people remember though Seems Like Old Times was also pretty successful.

The film’s opening credits take place off the coast of Big Sur.  The view is very picturesque but the crashing waves also set the tone for the trouble Nick is about to bring to the lives of Glenda and Ira.  Marvin Hamlisch’s score is upbeat, telling us the film is going to be fun, and uses a lot of saxophone in the melody.  The opening credits for Foul Play (the first Hawn/Chase film) also showed the California coast with Goldie Hawn driving on the Pacific Coast Highway south toward San Francisco.  If they ever make a third film (unlikely given Chase’s current illnesses) perhaps the credits will air over the road just south of La Jolla.

The film is successful because each of the leads is well defined and the comedy comes from their flaws.  Nick is irresponsible, selfish and takes advantage of Glenda’s helpful nature repeatedly.  He tries to get her into bed even though she is married to someone else, steals her car and keeps shows up but refusing to turn himself in even though she is ready to help him.  One standout moment is when Nick is in the car with Chester and Glenda and has an exchange with Chester at Glenda’s expense even though Glenda is the one who keeps putting her career and marriage on the line for him.  There are a couple of brief scenes in which Nick speaks a little more seriously, and it is hinted that he is a serious writer, but he is so comical it is easier to see him as a screw up.

Goldie Hawn’s Glenda is smart and presents herself well but as a public defender also has a soft spot for the minor criminals she is assigned to defend and gives them jobs to keep them out of jail but does little to keep them in line.  Glenda’s weakness extends to her six dogs, a few of whom she adopted off the street.  One would expect Hawn to play this character as overly sweet and giving but Hawn wisely approaches it as harried because she knows she is being taken advantage of and is annoyed with herself for allowing it to disrupt her personal life so much.  Simon never reveals why Glenda and Nick divorced but presumably it was in response to Nick’s carefree lifestyle.  Glenda has moved on to a more practical, career driven partner who Simon wisely shows that she is really in love with, but there is a small part of her that still is attracted to Nick.  Hawn’s best scene is when she exhaustedly gives a monologue to Ira exposing the irony of his suspicions of Nick.  Glenda makes a mistake in not confiding in Ira about Nick’s appearance right away (Ira may have given her the benefit of the doubt initially) but the comedy comes from the tension between them.

The late Charles Grodin leans into his role as the uptight Ira, a decent man who likes things in order which puts him at odds with Glenda also likes order but is irresistibly drawn to chaos.  Grodin also has some true zingers “Could we call the Air Force and ask for saturation bombing” as his frustration with the situation that has been thrust upon him increases.  Ira’s complete impatience with the six dogs in the house may have led to Grodin’s casting in Beethoven many years later.  Grodin and Hawn have created a believable marriage with affection and frustration. Grodin shows excellent timing in the climactic dinner scene when Ira is trying to keep his composure in the presence of the Governor as he realizes Nick is actually in the house.  When Ira slugs Nick in the kitchen, after being baited again by Nick, Grodin sells both Ira’s frustration and his cathartic release and I felt Nick deserved it.  Sandrich and Simon wisely keep the ensuing fight offscreen though the button on the end (Nick coming out of the kitchen in response to the bell), shows that Nick got the worst of it. 

The hearing has some hilarious moments, particularly with the judge, played by Harold Gould reacting ever more incredulously to the recap of the events.  All of the characters come to play and the unlikeliness of this playing out in a Los Angeles County courtroom when the robbery occurred in Monterey County is conveniently ignored.  Grodin gets some of the best lines though Ira is more resigned than anything else in this scene.

The goodbye kiss at the end is a sensitive comedic moment handled deftly.  Audiences may have wanted to see Glenda leave with Nick but Simon and Sandrich recognize that Ira, even with his flaws, is a better husband and Glenda addresses this by admitting she is still tempted by Nick but is happier with Ira.  Simon and Sandrich cover their bases by giving Chase and Hawn a big kiss but then she stays with Ira.  However I do not know many married people who would realistically stand by while their spouse engages in a long kiss with their ex right in front of them.  By asking permission, Ira asking for it to be timed, and Fred holding Ira back when the kiss goes on longer than it should it makes the scene somehow sweet and funny.  

The conclusion of the film is a little rushed.  We are supposed to believe that Ira and Glenda got up in the middle of the night and drove about 300 miles from Los Angeles to Big Sur, get lost in the woods and that Ira breaks his leg in a car accident.  It shows Ira can be spontaneous and fun but everything happens so quickly we can barely process it.  It leads to the moment where Glenda unknowingly knocks on Nick’s door looking for help and Nick (looking far more cleaned up than in most of the film) opens the door and the films ends on a frozen shot of Goldie Hawn’s adorable smile as she realizes whose house she is at. 

There could be several reasons for the smile.  Glenda may be sheepishly apologizing for bothering Nick knowing that she will need him even though her husband hates Nick.  She may be thrilled to see him after saying goodbye seemingly forever earlier.  The truth is as cute as the smile is it might play better if Glenda had been the one who spent the film disrupting Nick’s life instead of the other way around.  Nick clearly owes Glenda a huge favor.  I think the larger point of the ending is Nick will keep popping up in Glenda and Ira’s lives in one way or another.  

T.K. Carter is funny as the street smart Chester, who plays one of Glenda’s clients who she has employed as a butler and servant.  Chester is used to taking his breaks when he gets it and his opportunistic wine drinking sets up Nick to take his place in the climactic dinner.  Carter’s timing and delivery is very smooth.  Robert Guillame also has some good moments as Fred, one of Ira’s employees, often working smoothly in lockstep with Grodin.

Nowadays Chevy Chase has an admittedly well-earned bad reputation that might keep modern audiences from seeking out his films.  CNN recently produced an interesting documentary about him which discussed his life which included being abused repeatedly by his stepfather as a child and his later problems with drug and alcohol which led to him being very difficult with some of his collaborators.  However it is notable that several of his old costars, especially Hawn and Beverly D’Angelo (who played his wife in several Vacation movies) maintain close friendships with him and he is close to his own family.  The documentary notes that Chase used comedy as a distraction and coping mechanism.  

I encourage film fans to seek out and Seems Like Old Times and appreciate the talents that are onscreen and I wish Chase a happier time in his golden years. ****