Divorce American Style

Divorce American Style
Original poster
Directed by	Bud Yorkin
Written by	Norman Lear Robert Kaufman
Produced by	Norman Lear
Starring	Dick Van Dyke Debbie Reynolds Jason Robards Jean Simmons
Cinematography	Conrad L. Hall
Edited by	Ferris Webster
Music by	Dave Grusin
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	June 21, 1967 (1967-06-21)
Running time	109 minutes
Country	Template:Film US
Language	English

Divorce American Style is a 1967 American satirical comedy film directed by Bud Yorkin. The screenplay by Norman Lear is based on a story by Robert Kaufman and focuses on a married couple that opts for divorce when counseling fails to help them resolve their various problems, and the problems presented by divorced people by alimony.

The title of the film is a homage to Divorce Italian Style (1961).

Plot

After seventeen years of marriage, affluent suburban couple Richard Harmon (Van Dyke) and his wife Barbara (Reynolds) seem to have it all, but they're constantly bickering. When they discover they no longer can communicate even to argue, they make an effort to salvage their relationship through counseling. But when their situation doesn't improve, they file for divorce.

Richard finds himself living in a small apartment and trying to survive on $87.30 a week. His take-home income had been cut to ribbons by high alimony. Richard meets a recently divorced man, Nelson Downes (Robards), who introduces him to his wife Nancy (Simmons). Nelson wants to marry off Nancy to free him of his alimony burden, so that he can marry his fiancee. Nancy also wishes to marry because she is lonely.

Since Richard himself cannot afford to be married, Nelson and Nancy plot to set up Barbara with a millionaire auto dealer, Al Yearling (Johnson). As they try to muddle their way through their separate lives, Richard and Barbara realize the marriage they had might not have been as bad as they thought, and they reconcile.

Principal cast

• Dick Van Dyke as Richard Harmon
• Debbie Reynolds as Barbara Harmon
• Jason Robards as Nelson Downes
• Jean Simmons as Nancy Downes
• Van Johnson as Al Yearling
• Joe Flynn as Lionel Blandsforth
• Shelley Berman as David Grieff
• Martin Gabel as Dr. Zenwinn
• Lee Grant as Dede Murphy
• Tom Bosley as Farley
• Emmaline Henry as Fern Blandsforth
• Richard Gautier as Larry Strickland
• Tim Matheson as Mark Harmon
• Eileen Brennan as Eunice Tase
• Shelley Morrison as Jackie

Critical reception

In his review in the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert called the film "a member of that rare species, the Hollywood comedy with teeth in it" and added, "Bud Yorkin has directed with wit and style, and the cast, which seems unlikely on paper, comes across splendidly on the screen . . . The charm of this film is in its low-key approach. The plot isn't milked for humor or pathos: Both emerge naturally from familiar situations."

Variety observed, "Comedy and satire, not feverish melodrama, are the best weapons with which to harpoon social mores. An outstanding example is Divorce American Style . . . which pokes incisive, sometimes chilling, fun at US marriage-divorce problems."

New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther disliked the film. He said that "it is rather depressing, saddening and annoying, largely because it does labor to turn a solemn subject into a great big American-boob joke." Crowther criticized Van Dyke's performance, saying "He is too much of a giggler, too much of a dyed-in-the-wool television comedian for this serio-comic husband role."

A more recent review in Time Out New York cites "Two or three very funny scenes . . . and a first-rate batch of supporting performances."

Accolades

Norman Lear and Robert Kaufman were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay but lost to William Rose for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Lear also was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Comedy.

External links

• Divorce American Style at IMDb
• Template:Allmovie title
• Divorce American Style at the TCM Movie Database