Barefoot in the Park examines the institution of marriage, focusing on the joys and heartaches that are an inevitable part of it. To prove his resolve to change—he acts on Corie’s whimsy—regardless of its foolishness: Paul believes it is more important to concentrate on preparing for a law case than paying attention to his new bride. Paul: Do you have any idea how she felt just now? I’ll call you from court tomorrow and we can fight over the phone. I moved!...He came in here, drank my liquor, made three telephone calls, and ordered me around like I was one of the Santini Brothers. Paul and Corie’s past is the “six wonderful days” at the Plaza hotel. Because of Corie’s commitment to the marriage, Paul may not believe her when she asks for a divorce, and therefore not change his controlling behavior. Paul: (Shocked, he jumps up.) Paul? Just one more day. You’re a watcher. He is breathing as hard as ever.”. Corie puts down the phone, and rushes to the door.). Corie: Are you going to stay here again tonight? I don’t usually do this sort of thing but I find myself in a rather embarrassing position and I could use your help. Deadpan Snarker: Paul and Mr Velasco. Where were you going to look…? Velasco: Why worry about it now? Oh, yes…(Takes piece of paper out of pocket.) Telephone Man: (Not too thrilled.) A telephone repairman, Harry Pepper, buzzes to be let up and enters shortly after, gasping for air after climbing five flights, six with the front stoop. ); Mrs. Banks loses control by fainting and falling down the front stairs. Corie: You could look during your lunch hour. Mother: (Stunned.) She is an independently minded free spirit who prides herself on doing the illogical purely out of a sense of adventure, such acts as walking through Washington Square Park barefoot when it's 17°F outside. Paul: Very simple answer. And make him feel important. Paul: Er, no thank you. Everyone expresses their immediate reactions to the location and size of the apartment. She paints and decorates the apartment; she bounds up the five-flight walk-up. During the course of four days, the couple lear… Velasco: You didn’t….You were drenched and out cold. It’s six flights…Did you know it’s six flights? Offers plot summary and brief analysis of book. I still love you. Audience Reviews for Barefoot in the Park. FreeBookNotes found 1 site with book summaries or analysis of Barefoot In The Park. Set design by Derek McLane. (She turns into room.) Her character is not just unbelievable but an embarrassment to womankind. Among the summaries and analysis available for Barefoot In The Park, there is 1 Short Summary. Mother: And I had horrible nightmares. I don’t know how to make him happy…Oh, Mom, what am I going to do? Maybe two people should have to take more than a blood test. I was just going out to look for you. He decides to lose control by getting “Lousy, stinkin’ drunk!” and taking on Corie’s madcap ideas: Paul: Hey, Corie….Let’s do that thing you said before….Let’s wake up the police and see if all the rooms come out of the crazy neighbors…I want to be a nut like everyone else in this building. (Unhappily.) Paul and Corie’s past is their honeymoon. You can even control your emotions. At the slightest provocation, real or imagined, Corie’s insecurity about her marriage leads her to consider divorce: Corie: Oh , you’re grouchy. Hamlet His sustained grief for his father’s death is seen to be unmanly and evidence of “impious stubbornness.” (1.2.98) This is contrasted by King Claudius’ … When faced with the prospect of divorce, Paul loses control by getting intoxicated. Theatre Review by Matthew Murray - February 16, 2006. You’re the prettiest epicurean I’ve ever seen…(Offers knichi to Paul.) I like baths. It stars Robert Redford and Jane Fonda as a young newlywed couple. Impulsive and fun-loving, she considers herself a doer, not a watcher. Velasco: It’s a cleaning ticket. To the wonderful new life that’s ahead of us all. In some ways it’s better to live alone,” I said. When do I get my divorce? Barefoot in the Park...possible for these to be the relationships that evolve into something precious. But you are extremely proper and dignified. I just had a complete examination. At the height of their argument, Paul and Corie attempt to look at the institution of marriage in a logical (if not satirical) way: Paul: And now I will say something I will soon regret…Okay, Corie, maybe you’re right. Briefly identify the following characters and state the role they play in the movie: Telephone Man: I know. The other night. With all the trouble today, you see a couple of newlyweds, you figure there’s still hope for the world.”. “Barefoot in the Park” is a study of why and how fixed attitudes (especially in a marriage) create conflict. You’re very close to being perfect…I have never seen you without a jacket.. The following analysis reveals a comprehensive look at the Storyform for Barefoot in the Park. Corie: Ooh, that gets me insane. Paul: “Frozen skinny lovers found on 48th Street.” (They kiss. Barefoot in the Park, by Neil Simon, follows newlyweds Corie and Paul while the play Play it Again, Sam shows the couple of Dick and Linda who have been married for some time. I dreamt my fingers were falling off because I couldn’t make a fist. Corie: You don’t consider this a crisis? They’re sending them up at six o’clock. Corie: I don’t know. He feels it, and after a quick moment, he rises up on his knees and looks up at the hole. It's warm and light-hearted and all just-coming-out-of-the-50's-white-middle-class, but it does work as a feelgood film. Barefoot in the Park is a 1967 American romantic comedy film directed by Gene Saks from a screenplay by Neil Simon, adapted from his 1963 play of the same name. Corie: Always. They recently have moved into their small apartment in New York City after their six-day honeymoon. After a six day honeymoon, they get a surprise visit from Corie's loopy mother and decide to play matchmaker during a dinner with their neighbor-in-the-attic Velasco, where everything that can go wrong does. Among the summaries and analysis available for Barefoot In The Park, there is 1 Short Summary. Newlyweds Corie and Paul Bratter are over the moon to begin their life together in their new apartment in Manhattan. It was seventeen degrees. This film is dated, but it's hilarious. Mother: That’s the first time you’ve asked my advice since you were ten. Paul: I will. You want me to be rich and famous don’t you? Paul: Let’s see how you like living alone…A dog…Ha! The Odd Couple Main Title (01:38) 21. Neil Simon characterizes Corie as “Lovely, young, and full of hope for the future.” In describing the apartment, the author observes: “Someone with taste, imagination and personality can make this that perfect love nest we all dream about.” Corie exemplifies hope vs. dream: she dreams thinking she is hoping, and not until the last act does she realize the difference. MAN. It's me! and I dye my hair. I’d just like to keep my clothes…You’re always wearing my pajamas and slippers. ), the resources below will generally offer Barefoot In The Park chapter summaries, quotes, and analysis of themes, characters, and symbols. Paul and Corie compare the current status of their marriage to the “six wonderful days” at the Plaza hotel: Corie: I told you why. It’s no extra trouble. The problems between Paul and Corie are solved when Paul succumbs to the temptation to put Corie and his marriage first, despite any consequences. (The doorbell buzzes. How about that? (Unhappily.) Call-Back: To the Title Drop and Paul's observation that Corie likes to go barefoot in the park. Corie’s perception of her relationship with Paul is emotionally based, which tends to make her overreact in certain situations. We’re hot. Ethel Banks conceptualizes her life in the future as alone, and contrary to her words, she can imagine her loneliness: Mother: Aunt Harriet was with me when I picked it out. Guess what else I have? As he puts the blanket over the sofa, he suddenly bursts out) Six days does not a week make. We’re having a fight. Paul: I just couldn’t think today. We took a towel and two ash trays. Corie: A grandmother? It's wonderfully written and acted, with an especially delightful turn by Charles Boyer as the eccentric upstairs neighbor. All the objective characters have the fundamental desire to love and be loved. Although Corie is angry and has asked Paul for a divorce, her memory of how his clothes smell indicate she still loves him: Paul: And you can have the furniture and the wedding gifts. Corie: Do you know what I think you really need? Do you know what kind of night this was for her?...Well, she was miserable? After Victor and Ethel discuss the previous evening and share a “warm, hearty laugh,” his headache is cured: Velasco: Thank you, but I’m feeling better now. I work during the day, you know. Corie: That’s not a flight. Paul thinks that in order to be carefree like Corie, he must implement her crazy notions like walking barefoot in the park. It is a warm, hearty laugh shared by two friends.). Towards the end Corie finds a very drunk Paul in Central Park. The more emotional Corie becomes, the more Paul controls himself. Please see the supplementary resources provided below for other helpful content related to this book. Paul’s attention to his responsibilities as a lawyer comes into conflict with his commitment to marriage. Like Thursday night. Maybe we rushed into this marriage a little too fast. is 1 Short Summary. Characters who walk barefoot are often shown to be close to nature, animals and their surroundings. Dramatica is a registered trademark of Screenplay Systems Incorporated. The telephone’s out of order. A divorce? CORIE. Gonzales took them off. You’ve just got to give up a little of you for him. This script is a transcript that was painstakingly transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of Barefoot In The Park. We found no such entries for this book title. Corie demands an immediate divorce from Paul and asks him to find other living space. Paul prefers to adapt himself to his environment: Mother: I worry about you two. The objective characters attain love and happiness; Paul and Corie’s marriage-as well as Ethel and Victor’s imminent courtship-are marked for success. You’re so impulsive. It may be small and a six-flight climb, the heating may be busted and snow may be falling through the skylight, but nothing can quash their newlywed bliss. I wouldn’t be here for a social call. Paul, who has in fact lost his shoes, walks away and laughs that now he's going barefoot in the park. ), Paul: We’re in love again. Corie: (Sagely.) Corie: My divorce. Paul: How should I know? What? When else was I proper and dignified? Can I make a call yet? I want a divorce! The trip to Staten Island, the strange food, the drinks, being carried up to the apartment like that. Corie explains Paul’s absence to her mother, realizing she made a mistake: Corie: He had a perfectly good reason. You want me to be rich and famous, don’t you? SuperSummary (Plot Summaries) - Barefoot In The Park. I slept without a board…For the first time in years I slept without a board…You don’t suppose Uzu is a Greek miracle drug, do you? With Mr. Velasco…(Then the dawn.) In order to have a happy marriage, Paul realizes he must stop his controlling behavior. As an example of how choice acts as the catalyst to move the subjective story forward, Corie’s decision to take a tiny apartment on the sixth floor leads to conflict with Paul: Corie: You won’t take a bath. Just late at night in that little room upstairs. Corie’s decision to take an apartment on the sixth floor leads to conflict with Paul: Paul: (Breathing with great difficulty, looks back down the stairs.) Paul: We can’t. Velasco: Perfect. Paul: Corie, you’ve got to get rid of her. Theater review: ‘Barefoot in the Park’ steps uneasily into the 21st century Laguna Playhouse's production of Neil Simon's early '60s play is best enjoyed as a time capsule of that era. That’s a laugh…Wait till she tries to take him out for a walk…He’ll get one look at those stairs and he’ll go right for her throat. Me and my big stupid mouth. Ethel Banks must rely on the memory of Victor taking care of her in order to feel comfortable with him; Victor must remember that he had a good time with Ethel for him to want to pursue a relationship with her: Velasco: Yes…As a matter of fact, we both did….If you remember…(Remembering, he begins to laugh.). It’s a stoop. Paul and Corie come into conflict as they quarrel over the future of their marriage: Paul: What crisis? These characters are sometimes depicted as a Wild Child or Nature Hero living in jungles, forests or in the wild. Corie is open to new experiences, and encourages Paul (who is not) to do the same: Corie: Well, here goes.