[.ca] Goodbye Lover (Widescreen/Full Screen) (ISBN 0790739267)

From Amazon.com:
Overlooked and underrated, Goodbye Lover is a tawdry, tasty film noir with a soft spot for its scheming antiheroine. With her platinum Lulu bob, a killer wardrobe, and a Sound of Music fetish that inspires her to "climb every mountain" of bad-girl ambition, Patricia Arquette is perfectly cast as Sandra, the sweet but lethal wife of Jake (Dermot Mulroney), who works in a top-drawer ad agency with his brother Ben (Don Johnson). Weary stud Ben falls prey to simultaneous affairs with Sandra and his devoted secretary (Mary-Louise Parker), and the cynical Detective Pompano (Ellen DeGeneres) unravels the murder-for-insurance plot while her clueless Mormon partner (Ray McKinnon) tries to keep pace. Combining mordant humor and rampant depravity, this deliciously dark comedy starts fast and never lets up, liberating director Roland Joffé (The Killing Fields) from the sobriety of his previous work. The entire cast is great, but it's DeGeneres who makes this a recommended sleeper. --Jeff Shannon

allcanadianguy@shaw reviews * *:
Who would like this? : crime, drama & suspense fans Worth seeing?... -buy it : no -rent it : maybe Roland Joffe 1999 Cast: Patricia Arquette Dermot Mulroney Mary-Louise Parker Ellen DeGeneres Ray McKinnin Alex Rocco Don Johnson * not bad, a twist to the plot here and there but hey so many movies so little time so why bother with this one.

THE ELLEN AND RAY SHOW:
GOODBYE LOVER is a tasty and original film noir featuring incredibly good performances from its entire cast. Director Roland Joffe (Oscar nominated for THE MISSION and THE KILLING FIELDS) puts his tongue in his cheek and helms a story of battling femme fatales. Patricia Arquette (brilliant) stars as a ditzy, sexually overactive wife to headstrong advertising executive Dermot Mulroney (also very good). She is also having an affair with Mulroney's brother, played beautifully by an unusually effective Don Johnson. Also involved is Mary Louise Parker as an assistant to both Johnson and Mulroney, who has the hots for ..hmmm...both the brothers? Soon, we know it's BODY HEAT all over when a plot is hatched to bump off Johnson for the four million dollar double indemnity insurance payoff. It's no plot spoiler to reveal Johnson exits the movie early and we see that there is more than meets the eye to the romantic shenanigans of all involved. Then enters Ellen DeGeneres and Ray McKinnon as the detectives investigating Johnson's apparent accidental death. Generes is awesome; her one liners with McKinnon are priceless, harsh and incredible. Not one of her fans, I find myself in awe of her talent, particularly after this and FINDING NEMO. McKinnon as her Mormon, idealistic, and quite unintelligent partner, is a find! He's perfect as Ellen's foil and he brings a sense of moral uprightness and comic relief to this marvelous movie. Some great moments: Arquette and Johnson getting it on in the choir loft while the choir sings Handel. Arquette and Johnson are both highly respected members of their church and take up the collection plate. Mulroney goes to hire a killer to off his wife, and we see this man hanging upside down and don't know why! We see "what if" thoughts from both Johnson and Arquette that mirror what they'd like to see. While questioning a cook in a restaurant, DeGeneres (who always seems to be eating), is stealing food while McKinnon questions the cook. At one point in the movie, Ellen asks her partner if he's gay. (How's that for political correctness?). We never learn why she asks that particular question, and in a particularly joyous moment near the end of the film, McKinnon pulls a joke that has you riveted to your seat. This is a real find...it's worth buying, it's that good!

Oh what a tangled web we weave...:
The cast alone is worthy of 5 stars - Ellen Degeneres, Mary-Louise Parker, Dermot Mulroney, Don Johnson and Patricia Arquette. The plot is a superb blend of lust, deception, greed and murder. I agree that Ellen's brash detective steals the show, although the ending seemed kind of abrupt. It is still beyond excellent and highly recommended!

Excellent:
First of all, I would like to say that it is a shame that this movie is not a box office hit as it is highly entertaining. I hope it gets a well-deserved second look with its DVD. All the casts are superb including Patricia Arquette and Ellen degeneres. There is enough plot and twist to make this standard murder mystery plot fresh. And funny script make this even more enjoyable. The plot basically is about the death of advertising executive (Don Johnson). His brother is the sole beneficiary of the insurance policy. So the police (Ellen de Generes) is suspicious. To say more will spoil the fun. The DVD is OK. Both WS and FS versions included. The color is bright and clear. The 5.1 sound only active during wonderful music score by John Ottman. Overall this is a highy recommended DVD.

Ellen steals it...:
This movie was better than it got credit for. Pretty good movie but Ellen Degeneres steals the show as the tough/rude cop.