Once You See It, You'll Never "Forget Paris"

We'll always have Paris.

The Story:

Andy (Joe Mantegna) is getting married to Liz (Cynthia Stevenson).  So they are having a pre-wedding dinner with their friends (Richard Masur, Julie Kavner, John Spencer, Cathy Moriarty), and they begin telling the tale of Mickey (Billy Crystal) and Ellen (Debra Winger) and how those two met and fell in love.  However, theirs is not a typical romance, and by way of flashbacks and adding to the story by different people, Liz gets brought up to speed on these two.  However, the cliffhanger of the story with which Liz (and the audience) is held captive with is...

Are Mickey and Ellen together, or not?

I don't think I've ever made any secret of my love for Billy Crystal movies.  Even his bad ones are good enough, and his good ones are great.

I pile this one on his good list, made better by the material and the attention that Crystal gave to the title not only as the star, but also as the writer and the director.

It's a funny romantic comedy, often made all the funnier by the fact that people are telling this tale over dinner, and the arguments and corrections that take place to a story, just as if it were being told by real people, about real people.

So that really, by the time we actually get to see Mickey and Ellen in the movie, we're already well versed in who they are, what makes them tick and why they are where they are in life.

How else can you introduce the stars of the film with less than 5 minutes to go in the film if you don't use the narrative flashback?

It's clever, and the movie is a lot of fun.  It's simply overshadowed by Billy Crystal's only other real romantic comedy... but that's a review for another time. : )

So if you've never seen this one, or haven't seen it in almost 20 years...

Give it a whirl.  You should have a good time.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I own it, and it usually gets a spin every 2-3 years.