The first time I came across "Goodbye, Columbus" was in an advert for a local movie theater in a saved newspaper covering the moon landing in 1969. Years later, while at Ohio State, I read the novella by Philip Roth instead of the story I was suppose to read in English Lit class. So when I saw it available through Netflix I decided to give it a complete and adult look at a film that I had been interested in seeing.Neil Klugman, played by Richard Benjamin, sees Brenda Patimkin, played by Ali MacGraw, while on a visit to a Westchester country club one hot summer day and he is intent on meeting her. Brenda is beautiful and rebellious college co-ed. Neil is smitten immediately even though her impetuousness drives him crazy.Meeting Brenda also requires him to meet her family. There is the protective Dad, played by Jack Klugman, overbearing mother, played by Nan Martin, the lunkhead brother, played by Michael Meyers, and bratty younger sister, played by Lori Shelle. Mr. Patimkin owns a successful plumbing supply company and dotes on his children giving them anything they want. Mrs. Patimkin is interested in making sure Brenda marries into a "good" family - which means the same social class as them so she hates Neil from the beginning.The Patimkin children, Brenda included, have had so much given to them that they have no idea what it means to work and struggle for a living. In one scene Mrs. Patimkin has an argument with Brenda where she points out Brenda has no idea what it means to work for a living. She says Brenda has never washed a dish in the house. Brenda cries "We have Carlotta!" referring to the family's domestic. The scene foreshadows how dependent Brenda is on her parents and that she has no identity outside of her family.Neil is far more practical even if he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. He does know he doesn't want to have a family yet when he pressures Brenda to use birth control when they have sex. Thinking that her family will bail her out at anytime, Brenda is less concerned than Neil about using birth control.In the end Brenda's dependence on her parents and the superficial relationship she has with Neil dooms the lovers.I really enjoyed the movie even with the late 60's cultural corniness. The conflict between classes of the same group is apparent and you hope the love would overcome it.I did have a hard time believing that Richard Benjamin and Ali MacGraw could be lovers because he is far less attractive than she is and usually in Hollywood movies the pretty people get together. It does add a bit of realism to the story but is walking a fine line especially in the opening scenes when Benjamin has his swim trunks pulled way up his waist.Ali MacGraw was a perfect fit for the role of Brenda as she has always had an air of impetuousness about her as well as an upper class demeanor. She plays almost the same character in her next film - Love Story - but there she is more independent than in this film.The filmmakers did a good job of transferring the novella to the screen and gives one a good snapshot a particular ethnic experience.

Truly a period piece, Goodbye, Columbus is, certainly, an attempt to show the differences between two people of the Jewish religion. While I agree with many of the folks that commented on this film regarding the differences between Brenda's family and Neil's family, I don't see it as a matter of the wealthier character's family having no class and the poorer character having much more. I knew many families that were similar. My upbringing was more similar to Neil's as we were not wealthy. Klugman convey's the typical successful Jewish business man with a good heart. He works hard to provide a very comfortable environment for his wife and children. He is a very loving father and doesn't flaunt his wealth in the film. His family means everything to him. Benjamin's character, while exposed on occasion to the "good life", is content in knowing that he's OK despite his modest position in life. What's important in this film is that he knows there may be something in life that is better than working in a library, but he's not about to sell his soul to get rich just for the sake of being able to live the Potimkin's lifestyle. This film accurately portrays a young man early in his career and life and one of his early attempts at choosing between a safe secure future by marrying a beautiful, intelligent and not-too-spoiled Jewish girl or trying to see if he's really in love with HER and not the family money or trappings. This was a relatively low budget film that made you think. It tried to show how tough it is for a poorer man to deal with his demons in choosing the kind of woman and life he wanted. All in all, this film is an accurate slice of life in the Jewish community and is as relevant today as it was then.

"Goodbye, Columbus" was one of two Richard Benjamin movies based on Philip Roth novels about Jewish angst (the other was "Portnoy's Complaint"). In "Goodbye, Columbus", Benjamin plays Neil Klugman, a Jewish librarian who strikes up a relationship with Jewish American Princess Brenda Patimkin (Ali MacGraw). When he meets her family, they don't like him because he's not a physician or anything like that.I don't know for sure what you're supposed to notice most when watching this movie, but what really caught my attention was how undesirable Brenda's family was. Aside from how they dismiss Neil, they just shout at their servants. Brenda's family quite literally consists of worthless human beings. Brenda herself isn't much better. But, some people are really like that. Regardless of whether or not this could be a period piece, it's good to know that there is a movie which shows what certain people are like.

A splendid film for a lot of reasons. The Phillip Roth novel from which the film was adapted supplies unusually good dialogue for the script and an excellent structure on which the director can hang visual and audio elements that meaningfully support the story. Check out how well the musical score shifts to support the mood of each scene. Then there is an excellent cast.The title is a reference to the brother, a basketball player at Ohio State in Columbus, who frequently listens to an OSU sports commentary that signs off with "Goodbye Columbus". And the song lyrics "Hello life, goodbye Columbus" relate to leaving the protection of home/school to face the world.Although "Goodbye Columbus" is usually thought of as the "The Graduate" with a different ending, it is much more like "Adam at 6AM". The three films were made at the very end of the 1960's, all had a searching young man as their main character, and all revolved around a new romantic relationship. But in "Goodbye Columbus" and "Adam" the tension is not between different generations but between different backgrounds and values. In both the young man eventually realizes that these differences cannot be overcome and both films go out with shots of him leaving.At the time of its release "Goodbye Columbus" was more dated than the other two more "with-it" movies, which at least acknowledge the counterculture changes that were taking place at the time. Ironically, 35 years later, its failure to incorporate these references make it the least dated of the three films.The soundtrack album featuring "The Association" (and incidental music composed by Charles Fox) was probably the kiss of death for that group's credibility whatever their musical merits. While cool to be part of an outside film like "Easy Rider", it was uncool to be associated with a Hollywood product like "Goodbye Columbus". This was the summer of Woodstock and by then "The Association" had pretty much lost their audience. In addition to the title song they contributed "It's Gotta Be Real" and "So Kind To Me."It's two most famous scenes have held up very well: the montage of Ali MacGraw swimming during the title sequence and the comical wedding guests "pig-out" at the buffet table.This was the film that really introduced fashion model Ali MacGraw to movie viewers. She was 28 playing a 21 year-old college student. Much more believably than just a year later in the somewhat pathetic "Love Story". Physically MacGraw passes fine for a younger woman and being older probably helped her hold her own in scenes with the more experienced Richard Benjamin, Nan Martin, and Jack Klugman. She is excellent in this role and manages to stay accessible and genuine while also projecting poise, grace and beauty.Benjamin's character is genuinely attracted to MacGraw but seems to maintain a healthy skepticism about the romance (along with pretty much everything in life). MacGraw's Brenda finds him attractive because of his differences but she is really her Daddy's girl and her rebellion is more playful than serious. The best scene is the father-daughter session at the wedding very late in the film. Jack Klugman character knows just the right buttons to push and it is at this point that you know the romance is truly doomed.The cinematography is first-rate and while the widescreen DVD showcases this, it has been inexcusably trimmed to qualify it for a "PG" rating. The DVD version is only 101 minutes long. Entire sequences have been deleted including the critical first sex sequence where birth control methods are discussed (foreshadowing) and the sequence with the rationale for his moving in with the family for two weeks. Also missing is all the vaguely graphic elements dealing with her initial refusal to have sex. If you are a first time viewer watching the DVD version and find puzzling narrative gaps in the story or incomplete motivational explanations, the trimming is the reason. The trimmed sequences are on the "R" rated VHS, so to see this as intended (widescreen and uncut) you will need to buy both the DVD and the VHS and reconstruct things.