Albert Brooks starred and also co-wrote the script with Monica McGowan Johnson. He plays Robert, a Hollywood film editor, who is in a roller-coaster of a relationship with Mary, a bank executive. The film pretty much drops in on one go-round of what is clearly there standard cycle of breaking up and falling madly in love again.

It's quite a good film. Brooks is on the likable side of neurotic, and Kathryn Harrold as Mary is quite charming. James L. Brooks plays the director of the film that Robert is editing (He later cast Albert Brooks in Broadcast News.),and Bruno Kirby plays Robert's co-worker, Jay.

The film is full of memorable scenes, including a bit of an extended sequence with Robert at home after he takes Quaalude's that is pure gold and quite a bit more underplayed than the Quaalude scene in Scorcese's The Wolf of Wall Street.

It was interesting to watch this film in the context of the way films and television tackle relationships today - it feels a bit of a precursor to modern relationship comedies. The humor can be subtle and sometimes requires patience but it can really pay off. It's a well-paced film, too. I heard somewhere that - of all people - Stanley Kubrick was a big fan of the film!

I guess the one thing that really stood out for me is that these two people really had nothing in common. Why would Mary want a guy who seems sweet but is really just obsessing about her? Once he gets that white picket fence and her behind it, to what will his obsessions turn?

Albert Brooks character is a likable and despicable person, all at the same time. As a film editor, he is brilliant. He is very deflecting and agreeable, going along and getting along with all his colleagues. There are some hilarious "Hollywood insider" moments between himself and his producer. He is very proud of what editing he has done to make his movie more thought provoking to the audience. However, his producer wants everything totally catered to what he believes the public wants.

In his personal life, he is completely crazy. He breaks up with his lover, because he thinks that's what society wants. He doesn't want to break up with her, but he has to. Quickly, he realizes that he made a mistake, and crazily spends his time trying to win her back. There are some hilarious scenes. He goes to a sporting goods store and ends up spending a fortune on running gear. He goes to a local track and runs ten feet, before running to the nearest phone booth to call his lover. He goes to a thrifty store and buys all these tacky gifts there to win his lover back. Amazingly, it works. He becomes insanely jealous over her meeting at a restaurant with Japanese businessman.

In the end, it is clear that Brooks' character is a man who can't be alone. He is a victim of the romantic notion that lovers have to spend 100% of their time being in love with each other. He is insanely jealous and extremely possessive of his lover. His lover is clearly in great pain and suffering, but he can't let go of her, because that's what society says is demanded of in a modern relationship. The only downside is that the movie is dated. In addition, the movie was a little uneven, and trying to do a lot. However, this can be forgiven, because it is a very good comedy.

The Broadway musical, "Aspects of Love", proclaimed "Love Changes Everything", explaining that it makes fools of everyone, and boy, was that dong right. Without music, Albert Brooks does exactly that, having a midlife crisis when he breaks up with girlfriend Kathryn Harrold, then do desperately trying to get her back, expressing jealousy, screwing up at work, pursuing other romantic conquests he immediately regrets, then changing everything when he gets her back.

The genius in Brooks' films is that he is able to express the quirky and embarrassing sides of our life we couldn't write about if our final grade depended on it. He's like the L.A. version of Woody Allen, changing the trite style of dialog to real world conversation that almost makes the viewer feel that they are intruding in on private conversation.

I should mention that one sequence where Brooks goes into an athletic store to buy sneakers was repeated, practically in its entirety, in an episode of "The Golden Girls". A very funny sequence has Brooks trying to end a conversation with his mother and her attempt (unseen) to keep it going even though its obvious that he doesn't want to continue on the particular subject.

Cameos by George Kennedy and Meadowlark Lemon add to Brooks' career as a film editor, with Bruce Kirby as his assistant. Not all of the script covers the main plot, but it works, especially in detailing the life of a busy film editor. This is what is called a comedy of intellect, not meant for huge laughs, but providing bits of "I relate to that" smiles.