Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Barefoot in the Park Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 6, 2020

Gene Saks (The Odd Couple) makes his directing debut with 1967's Barefoot in the Park, a Robert Redford/Jane Fonda Romantic Comedy based on the stage production written by Neil Simon, who also penned this screenplay. The film explores the whirlwinds of wedded matrimony and the turbulence of togetherness, looking at two fairly disparate people who fall in love but learn that their life priorities don't necessarily match up once they say "I do" and start to make a life together in Manhattan's Greenwich Village.

Lovebirds.

Newlyweds Corie (Fonda) and Paul (Redford) marry quickly after meeting. Their love seems unbreakable: she can’t stop kissing him and he’s not complaining. At least not yet. They spend days upon days in their hotel honeymoon suite, never even emerging to grab the daily papers, which are piling up outside their door. Paul, his lips numb from kissing and realizing that the couple needs to move on with life, finally steps outside, much to Corie’s frustration and dismay. She’s a bit insecure with the relationship, fearing that every kiss may be the last and desperately trying to hold onto her man with limitless passion. But he’s a young lawyer just getting his feet wet, and while he’s at work, she’s settling the couple into a new, unfurnished apartment. It’s barren, it’s cold (there’s a hole in the skylight), and they quickly realize they have some quirky neighbors, including Victor Velasco (Charles Boyer), who lives in the building’s attic. Corie quickly connects with him and does her darnedest to set him up with her single mother, Ethel (Mildred Natwick). But even as the apartment slowly comes together, the relationship slowly falls apart. Corie can’t give Paul what he wants -- a finished apartment and some space to do his work -- and Paul can’t give his bride what she wants: endless intimate time together. As the couple comes to a crossroads, their future together grows ever more in jeopardy.

What begins as a fast and free, fun and frivolous RomCom slowly turns into a story of two lovers who come to realize that there’s more to happily ever after than just kissing and cuddling. Paul loves his new wife, and he certainly enjoys the fun times in bed, but he needs to get out, to go to work, to make a life away from his wife. She needs to fix up the apartment, an apartment the couple won’t be able to afford if Paul’s not on that bus every morning, in suit and tie, headed to the law firm. The story hits broad beats rather than intimate details, but such are enough to build the narrative and place the characters in a position of strain, where the relationship may break before the bonds are fully adhered. Simon nicely blends together the light and fun parts of marriage and deeper realities of life, told through expressive humor, particularly the five-floor staircase leading up to the apartment, which seems like a metaphor for the relationship: it’s a long way to the top, and it takes effort, but as the apartment comes into form it just may be worth the work in the end. If the couple can stay together that long, that is.

It’s the performances that sell the story. The leads are charming and the supporting cast is both funny and quirky. Redford and Fonda engage in interesting interplay in building the newlywed angles, constructing the relationship with physical intimacy of two types, both in love and in the logistics of sharing a small, unfurnished, and unfinished space together. The actors believably build up the relationship and even more believably watch it slowly collapse. Their love is like a Jenga puzzle. It’s big and sturdy but one by one pieces come out, resulting in a wobbly structure that threatens to come crashing down at any time. The movie remains amiable even as the relationship turns ugly, and the film invests its audience in their story with enough charm up front and depth through the middle that it matters if they can patch things up before it’s too late.

Barefoot in the Park Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Paramount brings Barefoot to the Park to Blu-ray by way of a gorgeous 1080p presentation. It's pleasantly and organically filmic. Grain bolsters the image with a natural, even, light structure, complementing the film source and bolstering the many fine details evident throughout, which include the basics like faces and clothes but also extend to plenty of interesting environmental elements, like some of the run-down appointments in the apartment complex, and the well worn stairwell in particular. City street exteriors are likewise sharp in the display of density and points of wear; one of the sharpest, best defined objects in the movie is the green bus Paul exits in two or three scenes in the movie. That green color is also a fine example of the transfer's excellent color presentation. Tones are well defined, precisely saturated, and consistently natural. Clothing tones find perfect depth while various urban hues seen around the city dazzle. As the apartment gains more furnishings, it gains more color, too, all of which presents with healthy depth and tonal accuracy. Skin tones are excellent and blacks are strong. The picture appears to be free of any unwanted blemishes either at the source or introduced by way of the encode. This is a perfect image from Paramount.

Barefoot in the Park Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The two channel mono soundtrack, presented in the Dolby TrueHD lossless encode, satisfies within the original element constraints. There's a demonstrable lack of range to the content, but most of it is pleasant enough, finding satisfying richness to music and light ambient effects. Dialogue images well to the center and rarely wants for greater clarity. In one of the final scenes, in the 98 minute mark, dialogue is clear but the underlying background sounds are harsh and unnatural. Fortunately, such distracting elements are few and far between. The track lacks complexity, but the movie demands only a straightforward listen which this one produces without much fuss or fault.

Barefoot in the Park Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Barefoot in the Park contains no supplemental content. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

Barefoot in the Park Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Barefoot in the Park explores a fairy tale marriage turned upside down by the intrusions of everyday life and the realities that exist beyond the bedroom. Can love survive when lovemaking can't be a full-time job? Witty, winsome, and even a bit wise, Barefoot in the Park delivers charm and reality with equal spark and depth. Paramount's Blu-ray is unfortunately featureless but the video is first-class and the audio presentation is just fine. Highly recommended.