The Goodbye Girl is a contemporary turn on Neil Simon's Academy Award-nominated classic film about a dumped-on divorcee and an aspiring actor who become unwilling roommates.

Musical dancer on the way out (at 36) Paula McFadden had it swell with actor Tony DeSanti, but instead of taking her to Hollywood he gets a European movie part. He even sublets their (his) New York apartment to Elliot Garfield, who generously lets her stay, even keeping the master bedroom. Pragmatic pre-teen daughter Lucy soon takes to his charm, but Paula remains determined to hate all actors. Despite the stress of a Broadway Shakespeare lead he must play too queer for Frisco, he's determined to snatch romance from ingratitude.—KGF Vissers

Ex-Broadway chorus dancer Paula McFadden lives with her adolescent daughter, Lucy, and Paula's lover, actor Tony De Forrest. Paula has solely been playing "wife" and mother ever since she got married to Lucy's father, Bobby Kulick, which, after their divorce, was followed by her relationship with Tony. Paula comes home one day to find that Tony has left her. Not only will Paula have to start working again (as Tony was the household breadwinner), the only thing she knows being dancing, but she may have to look for another apartment. Unknown to Paula, Tony, whose name was on the apartment lease, has sublet it to Elliot Garfield, an actor from out of town who has come to New York to appear as the lead in an off off Broadway production of Richard III. Paula will not give up the apartment without a fight, but an equally tenacious Elliot figures the law is on his side and he does have a key. So pragmatic Paula figures the easiest thing to do is to share the apartment with Elliot. Paula doesn't much like Elliot, solely because of what he represents to her, and thus Paula tries to make his life as miserable as she can there in hopes that he will leave. However Elliot and Lucy get along famously. As Paula and Elliot try to co-habitate, they each have their own professional problems, Paula's being that she is woefully out of shape to be a dancer, and Elliot's being that he doesn't see eye to eye with his Richard III director, who wants to take the production in a whole different and unconventional direction. As each tries to earn a living, they find that they are falling for each other. But Paula, a two time loser in love, is hesitant to get into a relationship with Elliot, who she believes will ultimately leave her like Bobby and Tony did before.—Huggo