Just Me and You (1978 film)

Last updated
Just Me and You
Just Me and You.jpg
GenreComedy
Written by Louise Lasser
Directed by John Erman
Starring Louise Lasser
Charles Grodin
Music by Fred Karlin
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producer Roger Gimbel
Producer William S. Gilmore
Cinematography Gayne Rescher
Editor Tina Hirsch
Running time100 minutes
Production companies EMI Television
Roger Gimbel Productions
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseMay 22, 1978 (1978-05-22)

Just Me and You is a 1978 American made-for-television comedy film written by Louise Lasser and directed by John Erman.

Contents

Plot

The film is a gentle comedy about two strangers with personal family issues who drive across wintery America after Michael Lindsay (Charles Grodin) offers a lift to Jane Alofsin (Lasser) and how they gradually get to know each other. Jane is a little neurotic and very indecisive while Charles is more focused.

Cast

Production

Lasser wrote the script in the period between shooting the Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman pilot and filming the series. "My biggest fear was that I would write like Woody but I came out sounding like me," she said. [1]

Lasser said she "wasn't a writer" but wrote 300 pages of "dialogue scenes" between a boy and a girl. These were read by Deanne Barkley who was developing script for the Robert Stigwood Organization. She suggested Lasser write up her pages as a script and gave her the basic plot line. Lasser rewrote the script accordingly. [2]

Mary Hartman became a big success. Lasser wanted to move into writing and directing. [3] She quit the show and took five months to recover. She then signed a three-picture deal with NBC, to write and star in one film, star in another and direct in a third. The first film was Just Me and You. [2] [4] [5]

Deanne Barkley had moved to NBC by this time. She got Lasser to rewrite the project under the guidance of Roger Gimbel of EMI TV. She worked on the male part to get the interest of Charles Grodin. "It was the part I wanted to play," she said later. "I love that part. The woman - I don't understand her." [2]

The film was shot entirely in California, with various locations such as Joshua Tree doubling for the rest of the US. [2]

Reception

The Los Angeles Times said the film contained "the funniest outpouring of dialogue this side of Woody Allen." [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Manhattan</i> (1979 film) 1979 film by Woody Allen

Manhattan is a 1979 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen and produced by Charles H. Joffe from a screenplay written by Allen and Marshall Brickman. Allen co-stars as a twice-divorced 42-year-old comedy writer who dates a 17-year-old girl but falls in love with his best friend's mistress. Meryl Streep and Anne Byrne also star.

<i>Heaven Can Wait</i> (1978 film) 1978 film by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry

Heaven Can Wait is a 1978 American sports fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry about a young man being mistakenly taken to heaven by his guardian angel, and the resulting complications of how this mistake can be undone, given that his earthly body has been cremated. It was the second film adaptation of Harry Segall's play of the same name, the first being Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941).

Peter Hess Stone was an American screenwriter and playwright. Stone is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the screenplays he wrote or co-wrote in the mid-1960s, Charade (1963), Father Goose (1964), and Mirage (1965).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sidney Sheldon</span> American writer (1917– 2007)

Sidney Sheldon was an American writer. He was prominent in the 1930s, first working on Broadway plays, and then in motion pictures, notably writing the successful comedy The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), which earned him an Oscar in 1948. He went on to work in television, where over twenty years he created The Patty Duke Show (1963–66), I Dream of Jeannie (1965–70), and Hart to Hart (1979–84). After turning 50, he began writing best-selling romantic suspense novels, such as Master of the Game (1982), The Other Side of Midnight (1973), and Rage of Angels (1980).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Tidyman</span> American author and screenwriter (1928-1984)

Ernest Ralph Tidyman was an American author and screenwriter, best known for his novels featuring the African-American detective John Shaft. His screenplay for The French Connection garnered him an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as a Golden Globe Award, a Writers Guild of America Award, and an Edgar Award. In 1971, he also co-wrote the screenplay for the film version of Shaft with John D. F. Black.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Kasdan</span> American filmmaker (born 1949)

Lawrence Edward Kasdan is an American filmmaker. He is the co-writer of the Star Wars films The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983), The Force Awakens (2015), and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). He also wrote Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and The Bodyguard (1992), and is the writer-director of Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Silverado (1985), The Accidental Tourist (1988), and Dreamcatcher (2003).

<i>Midnight Run</i> 1988 film by Martin Brest

Midnight Run is a 1988 American action comedy film directed by Martin Brest, written by George Gallo, and starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin. Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano, and Philip Baker Hall play supporting roles.

<i>Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman</i> US TV series, 1976–1977

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman is an American satirical soap opera that was broadcast on weeknights from January 1976 to July 1977. The syndicated series follows the eponymous Mary Hartman, a small-town Ohio housewife attempting to cope with various bizarre and sometimes violent incidents occurring in her daily life. The series was produced by Norman Lear, directed by Joan Darling, Jim Drake, Nessa Hyams, and Giovanna Nigro, and starred Louise Lasser, Greg Mullavey, Dody Goodman, Norman Alden, Mary Kay Place, Graham Jarvis, Debralee Scott, and Victor Kilian. The series writers were Gail Parent and Ann Marcus.

<i>Cross Creek</i> (film) 1983 film by Martin Ritt

Cross Creek is a 1983 American biographical drama romance film starring Mary Steenburgen as The Yearling author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. The film is directed by Martin Ritt and is based in part on Rawlings's 1942 memoir Cross Creek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Lasser</span> American actress

Louise Lasser is an American actress, television writer, and performing arts teacher and director. She is known for her portrayal of the title character on the soap opera satire Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman for which she was Primetime Emmy Award nominated.

<i>Sunburn</i> (1979 film) 1979 film by Richard C. Sarafian

Sunburn is a 1979 British-American comedy detective film directed by Richard C. Sarafian and written by James Booth, John Daly and Stephen Oliver. It is based on the novel The Bind by Stanley Ellin. The film stars Farrah Fawcett, Charles Grodin, Art Carney, Joan Collins, William Daniels and John Hillerman. The film was released on August 10, 1979, by Paramount Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marian Mercer</span> American actress

Marian Ethel Mercer was an American actress and singer.

<i>...All the Marbles</i> 1981 film by Robert Aldrich

...All the Marbles is a 1981 American comedy-drama film about the trials and travails of a female wrestling tag team and their manager. It was directed by Robert Aldrich and stars Peter Falk, Vicki Frederick and Laurene Landon. The Pittsburgh Steeler hall of famer "Mean" Joe Greene plays himself.

<i>Movers & Shakers</i> (film) 1985 film by William Asher

Movers & Shakers is a 1985 American comedy film distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, starring Walter Matthau and directed by William Asher.

Maryedith Ann Burrell is an American actress, comedian, film and television producer, writer and documentarian best known for starring roles on the television series Fridays, Throb, Ron Howard's Parenthood, and The Jackie Thomas Show as well as recurring roles in the television series Seinfeld and Home Improvement.

<i>Joy of Sex</i> (film) 1984 film by Martha Coolidge

Joy of Sex is a 1984 American sex comedy film directed by Martha Coolidge. It was written by Kathleen Rowell and J.J. Salter, based on the sex manual by Alex Comfort.

<i>Last Resort</i> (1986 film) 1986 comedy directed by Zane Buzby

Last Resort is a 1986 comedy film directed by Zane Buzby and produced by Julie Corman. It revolves around George Lollar, who takes his family on vacation to "Club Sand", a shoddy and untrustworthy company. On this tropical island they find soldiers everywhere, an unhelpful staff, inhospitable accommodations and undesirable holiday makers, but everyone except for George manages to have fun in the sun.

Leigh Chapman was an American actress and screenwriter. She began her career in acting during the 1960s, notably in a recurring role as Sarah Johnson, a secretary in the television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., 1965.

<i>Players</i> (1979 film) 1979 American film

Players is a 1979 American romance drama film directed by Anthony Harvey and starring Ali MacGraw and Dean Paul Martin about a young tennis player who has an affair with an older woman.

Coffee, Tea or Me? is a 1973 American TV film based on the book of the same name. It was directed by Norman Panama.

References

  1. Louise Lasser, Louise Lasser: Louise Lasser, Louise Lasser By Jeannette Smyth. The Washington Post 17 Jan 1976: B1.
  2. 1 2 3 4 New Episode in Lasser's TV Life: Incomplete Source Smith, Cecil. Los Angeles Times 9 May 1978: h1.
  3. Mary Hartman's Price Goes Up: SECOND SEASON Mary Hartman Price Doubles Margulies, Lee. Los Angeles Times 8 Oct 1976: e1.
  4. Dragging a critique out of a critic: Louise Lasser turns tables and interviews interviewer about 'Just Me and You' By Arthur Unger. The Christian Science Monitor 19 May 1978: 19.
  5. Louise Lasser Stars in TV Film by Louise Lasser: Success a Surprise Only Exhaustion Used Goods Cherished By ALJEAN HARMETZ Special to The New York Times. 21 May 1978: 53.
  6. Our TV Cup Runneth Over Los Angeles Times 22 May 1978: g14.