Barefoot in the Park (1967)

As my girlfriend noted before I watched for the first time, this is like the original 'Dharma & Greg.' She's the free spirit, he's the button-down lawyer struggling to adjust to the new world into which he's just married. After six days of a honeymoon at the Plaza, where eyebrows are raised amongst the staff because the young lovers never leave the room, conflicts come to a boil at home when she realizes that her new husband isn't such an adventurous fella. Amongst the number of reasons she compiles to determine that they just can't make it after all: he declines an invitation to take off his shoes, in February, to walk barefoot in the park.

Of course, with your knowledge of romantic comedies about marital discord, you know generally how it all ends. How the conflict is resolved, beginning with some advice from Mother, may seem realistic and true to some. Others raised on self-empowered heroines may think it's a trite sell-out.

There's no question that young Redford fits the bill as Handsome & Charming, but it's a little hard to believe in him as a character who's supposed to be a stick in the mud. Fonda at this point had carved out a niche for herself in Wild, Untamed Belle roles, and she's fine again in that role here. But I must admit it was hard to watch without thinking about Holly Golightly, and imagining a sophisticated presence like Audrey Hepburn in the part, instead. The script also calls for the Mother to comment that she's never seen another couple who looked so much in love, but I really didn't see it. The couple seems at complete odds from their first evening at home. I can't think of a scene that illustrates why the two fell in love in the first place, except that they're both so young & sexy.

It's worth watching for the snappy dialogue, the work by Charles Boyer & Mildred Natwick as Mr. Velasco & the Mother, the chance to admire Redford & Fonda in their youth, and as a nice Neil Simon period piece. But it would be no crime for someone to attempt a better, updated remake. It could be done, and you probably can already picture it.