BAREFOOT IN THE PARK

SYNOPSIS: Young love gets put to the test when a newly married couple is forced back to reality after their blissful honeymoon. Passion gets pushed to the wayside once the trials of everyday life begin and they must learn to sink or swin together.

BOTTOM LINE: Neil Simon trains his razor sharp wit on the foibles of a newly married couple in this witty and wacky romantic comedy. While some of the ideas expressed are bit dated, Fonda and Redford are so charming and sexy you won't care one bit. The challenge of starting a life together brings them quickly back to reality and exposes the potential down side of their rather impulsive nuptials. A ramshackle apartment, wacky neighbors, pressures at work and a lonely mother-in-law only add to the stress of blending two rather different personalities and life philosophies into one happy couple. One long night on the town almost proves their undoing, leaving us to wonder if love is enough to bridge the gap between a conservative lawyer and the free-spirit he made his wife. The final third where they sort of switch personalities – figuratively, not literally – is rather obvious and overplayed, but it gives Redford some of his best comic moments in the piece as a man worn down by an emotional wife, a dreadful head cold and a whole lot of whiskey. Written and performed by anyone else, these characters would have been one-dimensional, but the first-rate team of Simon, Redford and Fonda make their troubles funny, poignant and unforgettable. This is a smart, sassy and sexy romance that takes an honest look at life after the wedding bliss fades away.