DVD Review: Barefoot in the Park

To prepare for the upcoming release of Monster-in-Law starring Jane Fonda, we'll periodically be reviewing some of the comedies in Jane Fonda's filmography.

We're starting with Barefoot in the Park, a 1967 film starring Fonda and Robert Redford. (They've been paired onscreen three times, The Chase, The Electric Horseman and Barefoot in the Park.) Redford had played the role of Paul Bratter onstage in the Neil Simon play. (Simon did the adaptation for the screen.) Corie Bratter is played by Jane Fonda and the spelling will come as a shock to the parents of many "Coreys" who named their daughter after this character. (We know of three Coreys on campus whose parents named them after Fonda's character.)

The film opens with Fonda and Redford headed to the Plaza for their honeymoon. (And at the Plaza, in a noncredited role, you'll spot a young Doris Roberts as a maid.) Paul's an attorney out to make his mark at a firm. Fonda's plans . . . Hey, it's Hollywood, it's 1967 and it's Neil Simon. Corie's only plan is a decorating their apartment and making sure they have fun.

Early on, at the Plaza, Fonda slinks into the hall in a man's pajama shirt (only) while Paul waits for the elevator. When the elevator arrives and Paul steps in, she calls out, "Thank you, Mr. Dooley. Next time you're in New York, just call me up." Her delivery nails the line but the physical nature of Fonda's work is little commented on. (Though her body is often noted.) This is the first attempt on the film's part to tittilate and we could be thrown (and often are when stage actresses recreate this role) if it's not handled correctly. It's not just the adventure in Fonda's eyes or the smile she's fighting hard to hold back as she slinks into the hall, it's the manner in which she slinks that lets you know something is about to happen. It primes you so you're not scratching your head at Corie's line (the way you do in too many recent stagings of the play).

Pauline Kael once noted Fonda's eyes and face, how she appears to get it a minute before others in a scene. While that's true, it's equally true that she has a physical quality to her work (no doubt partly due to her training which included Lee Strasberg) that's seldom noted.

You see that quality in many of the scenes. When she attempts to seduce Redford on their first night in their new apartment, she's doing a bizarre dance that is assured, comical and sexy. On a ferry ride, Fonda makes sure Corie is a constant buzz of movement. When details like this aren't utilized in the role by other actresses, you don't really grasp Corie's desire for adventure.

There's no denying her timing with a line or her ability to detonate a quip or wisecrack, but it's the physical base to her work that enriches the verbal.

The story can be boiled down to this: Can an uptight stiff find happiness with a care-free sprite?
The answer is an obvious and happy one (again, this is 1967). Playing the stiff, Redford submerges himself into an often thankless role. (Though it probably was greeted differently upon the film's original release.) Still, he gets some moments where he really shines. There's a moment where he discusses thinking of Corie while at work that is verbally inexpressive but completely pulled off by his facial expressions. He also shines in a super market scene where the estranged couple wait at the check out line and immediately after back at the apartment while a telephone installer attempts to fix their phone.

For the most part though, his character comes off like Will Truman on Will & Grace, largely standing around while Karen Walker and Jack McFarlin have all the fun. (Again, the role of Paul Bratter was probably greeted differently by many in 1967.) But despite the writing, Redford deserves praise for committing to the role and also for the care with which he handles the tasks of the role. A little more gravity and the film would sink. Redford exhibits a light and skillful touch, one that finds us wishing he would do some comedies in the near future.

Mildred Natwick is hilarious as Corie's mother and Charles Boyer as the intriguing neighbor adds to the mix. The film falls into a soggy period when Boyer loses his sparkle and Natwick offers up advice that probably too many women of that period heard (and heeded). But thanks the ending, we're left with the hope that Corie won't dim her own light to feed Paul's shine. Without giving away the ending to anyone who hasn't seen the film, Natwick's advice appears to fall on deaf ears when, by necessity, Corie has to once again exhibit her adventurous streak for everything to end happily.