Barefoot in the Park (1967) – Review

One of the apps I use on almost a day to day basis is Just Watch. It shows which movies have been added to Netflix (and other services) each day. It keeps me up to date and makes me aware of titles I wouldn’t normally notice. Recently this movie was in the list and I had never heard of it, even though it has an Oscar nomination for best female supporting role. With Jane Fonda and Robert Redford in the leading roles, I was interested in seeing it.

Paul (Redford) and Corie (Fonda) are a newly married couple who after a multi-day honeymoon in a luxury hotel have to start their new life together. They move into a new apartment, which is not quite what they expect from it (the number of stairs they have to walk is enormous, there is a hole in one of the windows and the heating does not seem to work either) and when the mother of Corie (Mildred Natwick) comes along unexpectedly while the apartment is not yet furnished she worries for her daughter. Living together does not turn out to be as easy for the couple as they had imagined and they have to deal with friction between them when not everything goes as they want.

 Barefoot in the Park is based on a play and has made a successful transition to film. It is a wonderful romantic comedy that doesn’t need extreme situations like current movies seem to need. The atmosphere is fun because of great supporting roles and situations and it is simply a title where time seems to fly by while you’re watching. The chemistry between Fonda and Redford (btw, I noticed here how much Brad Pitt looks like Redford) is convincing and I enjoyed it much more than I had expected initially.