Barefoot in the Park (1967)
This film, based on a play of the same name, written by Neil Simon, and screenplay by Simon, is set in NYC’s Greenwich Village in a fifth floor walk-up, where the passionate relationship of mismatched newlyweds, a conservative lawyer (Robert Redford) and a spirited, free-thinking young woman (Jane Fonda) descends into comical discord. This light, farcical tale features an eccentric neighbor (Charles Boyer) and Fonda’s lonely mother (the delightful Mildred Natwick), and takes us through multiple mismatches and misunderstandings, a potential love match and a threatened divorce. Although the plot and ending are predictable, the on-screen chemistry of Fonda and Redford more than make up for it.
Robert Redford and Mildred Natwick both reprised their roles from the stage play. Barefoot in the Park turned out to be Redford’s first commercially successful movie and the start of a great film career. Natwick was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress.
