Mindless astray stoner noir, with a script that mirrors that same clueless baffling stoner view. Marlborough Man, aimlessly trying to track down his friend, a cash trail, a dead wife, and a cast of characters that pass in and out. Would I call it an amazing movie? No, but movies like Inherent Vice, The Big Lebowski, Under a Silver Lake, etc owe quite a bit of themselves to it.

Came here for TNG's *The Big Goodbye* (TNG S01E12). Stayed because I like the genre and this happens to be a genuinely good movie. This probably ain't the best film noir I have ever seen and I don't even like the main character but the mere fact that such movies are rare these days makes this worth a watch. Tbh I'm not even sure that this movie still qualifies as film noir. The cast, the plot, locations, the cat, Marlowe's Lincoln Continental and the cinematography are quite okay though. Plus: a spectacular appearance of a future governor and an equally spectacular 5000$ bill.

PS: those libertine neighbors are great.

A script with some incredibly clever dialogue, brought to life by a wonderful cast of memorable characters. The seedy belly of the detective underworld is contrasted by the flair of 70s glam, giving the film an uneasy and almost surreal tone. This is only aided further by the smooth, jazzy soundtrack that just eases itself along throughout the film, with plenty of great diegetic moments, adding to the surrealism. And it's all encapsulated within an inventive cinematic lens with loads of unique and interesting shots adorning each and every frame. Truly a masterpiece of its time, and easily recommendable to anybody who enjoys good cinema.

The main performance alone is worth watching the movie. Lots of performances that get praised are so show-off-y but this one has such an effortless, naturalistic type.

Are you kidding me? This crap has ~90% on Rotten Tomatoes?

Gould's Marlowe is an unfunny, mumbling, bumbling, obnoxious, cringy idiot. They replaced the signature crime noir protagonist speaking from the off with this guy speaking to himself no matter if there are people around or not. He's a clown in need of psychological help.

The plot is full of things that make no sense. [spoiler]Marlowe running after Eileen and getting hit by a car, ends up in hospital? What? Why? Waste of time. Verringer hitting Roger in the face and Roger not killing him in return? Ridiculous. Augustine never laying a hand on Marlowe after all the sht he says? Yeah, sure. Marlowe knowing somebody brought the money and who it was? GTFO![/spoiler]

The only top 10 seconds of the movie was the final scene with the hammock. And even that got ruined by the ridiculous harmonica dance nonsense that followed it.


In conclusion: I had hoped for a hard-boiler crime noir thriller for adults, and got some kind of clown fiesta for kids.

"It's OK with me."
What a great movie.

ive gotta tell yall i really liked the protagonist. the way he talks was funny. this movie was okay but the main character was the most enjoyable. to see this guy do his thing , his way. give it a try. funniest private eye ever.

"Excuse me, I don't see any Courry Brand cat food here."

Young Mr. Schwarzenegger had a great mustache!

Anyway The Long Goodbye works because of the amazing performance by Elliott Gould. He simply sucks you in at the beginning of the film, saying hi to his lesbian neighbors, trying to buy his cat some specific cat food. Cat food isn't available and now he tries to trick his cat. Epic stuff.

We follow Elliott Gould who plays Philip Marlowe a private eye as he tries to discover the truth about his murdered friend and his wife. The mystery slowly unfold to a killer conclusion.

The way Gould talks to himself and his great wit is what makes this film great. Also these sudden stuff like very scene with his neighbors, he asks them to look out for his cat and they just simply ignore him or when somehow we have a 5 second shot of one dog humping another one. Or the epic sign that says "El Porto del Gato".

The more I think about the Long Goodbye, the more I love it. It is simply a must watch.

Well, the quick review is that it hasn't aged well.

Elliot Gould is fine in the lead role. He's got a charm to him as a slightly off-kilter guy with above-average smarts.

The rest of the cast are pretty standard with crap 70s acting. There's a short appearance by Arnold Schwarzenegger in his Mr Olympia 1972 shape and the guy is enormous next to normal men!

The plot is the usual nonsense that becomes inter-related and then has a twist. The twist here is predictable about 20 minutes out... And the other twist is completely out of character and makes no sense.


6/10

Decent flick (word count req)

For starters, I think this movie, while not from the classic Hollywood era, is the pure definition of noir cinema. The setting, both climatologically and geographically speaking, is attractive. The protagonist, Philip Marlowe, is very well defined: he has a personality that engages the public, perfect eloquence, an unbeatable look. All of this plus Elliott Gould's facial expressions makes it easy to sympathize with the protagonist. On the other hand, the plot seems simple at first, however, then there begin to be many loose ends. This made me lose easily nevertheless everything is resolved in the end, making the end not so obvious.

[spoiler]Curious fact: In the poster, Philip is seen using a revolver, but in the film he never has one. On the cover of the DVD, he carries a gun, but in the background they have put the beach, something that is not correct either. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm almost sure not![/spoiler]