Modern Romance (Albert Brooks, 1981)
I have a real soft spot for Albert Brooks. Most people don't know that about me. I think it started when I saw Defending Your Life when I was about 11 or so. I just like the guy. He's been called the West Coast Woody Allen, and I think that's pretty apt. Certainly not as prolific, but in his best moments, just as engaging. And Modern Romance is perhaps Brooks' best effort (although I still haven't seen all of his films).
The legend says that after seeing this film, Stanley Kubrick called Albert Brooks to ask him how he managed to pull off such an effective film about jealousy, as he has always wanted to make a film on that subject (we can pretty much speculate that Kubrick did eventually make that film, Eyes Wide Shut). And this is quite an effective film about jealousy. It starts off with a kind of romantic comedy feeling, but as it continues, we're left with a feeling of unease. This film has a real dark side to it, so unlike the romantic comedies that have been churned out in recent years. Most Hollywood hacks couldn't pull this film off; it's genuinely funny, off-putting, sympathetic, and disturbing all at once.
I also enjoyed the bits about film-making that were interspersed throughout the film. Brooks' character is a film editor, so we're treated to several scenes wherein we see the work that goes into making a film from an editor's perspective. These scenes added a real reflexivity to the film that made the experience more real and accessible, I thought. Almost as if Brooks was letting us in on the joke, but still keeping us at enough of a distance so that we can feel awkward and a bit disturbed by his character's actions.
Bottom line: a real gem.