Only When I Laugh

Only When I Laugh is a 1981 comedy-drama film based on Neil Simon's play "The Gingerbread Lady" starring Marsha Mason, Kristy McNichol, James Coco and Joan Hackett.

Plot
Actress Georgia Hines is being released from a rehab center where she has been undergoing treatment for alcoholism and weight gain.

Georgia returns to her Manhattan apartment to begin a new sober life with her supportive friends: unemployed actor Jimmy and socialite Toby, promising that she will maintain her sobriety and slowly ease herself back into theatre work.

Less than a week after her return, Georgia's teenage daughter Polly (who was living with Georgia's ex-husband and his new wife) asks if she could move in with her which Georgia agrees even though she's not completely convinced that she is ready.

She and Jimmy repaint the apartment to "remove the martini stains from the wall" as a symbolic gesture towards her new life with her new daughter. Just as Polly arrives, Georgia accepts a telephone call from her ex-lover, writer David Lowe, who asks if they could meet. With a renewed sense of confidence she strongly refuses David and hangs up.

Georgia and Polly discuss the effects Georgia's alcoholism had on Polly, who shares her sadness at not being allowed to grow up with her mother. Georgia feels she can finally provide for Polly. That night, she hesitantly rings David Lowe to apologize for her curt conversation. She agrees to meet him at their old theatre district hangout.

A trim and fit Georgia, wearing borrowed clothes from Polly, meets David for dinner. He presents a script he has written, based on their turbulent, alcohol-filled relationship. It is David's first script in two years and he says he's found a theatre to stage it & wants Georgia to play the lead role.

Furious that David brought her there for business, Georgia makes a scene. But as she is about to dramatically exit, David calmly asks her to reconsider. Unable to resist his charm, Georgia laughs and takes the script home.

The reunion between Georgia and Polly is turning out to be a success. The two go shopping together, even flirting with college-aged boys who clumsily mistake Georgia and Polly for sisters. After a day of mother-daughter bonding they share their adventures with a delighted Jimmy, surprising him with a musical number Polly's been working on for a school show. The apartment is filled with music and laughter.

In the middle of their performance, the phone rings & Georgia abruptly rushes to take David's call, leaving Jimmy and Polly to sit in silence on the piano bench as Georgia is heard laughing in the background.

Georgia begins working on the play while David joyfully watches from the side as Georgia does well in rehearsals. In one particularly tense scene, Georgia confuses art with life, loses her composure and must stop. David consoles her and Georgia doesn't think that she can go forward with the play because it is too painful.

David, agreeing to whatever Georgia decides, nevertheless tells her that she is the only one who can do this part. Georgia is again calmed and charmed by David, who tenderly kisses her on the cheek as he exits.

Toby is impatiently sitting at a restaurant. Georgia arrives happily late from rehearsals to find Toby in a foul mood. Georgia continues to talk about the play when Toby reveals that her marriage might be in trouble.

Jimmy bounces in with great news that he finally has been given a part in a play and wants to celebrate. He is beaming and Georgia congratulates him while Toby looks on in silence. Jimmy realises that something is not right, but Toby invites them to her birthday party and lightens the mood.

Georgia returns to rehearsals and is feeling light-hearted and brings David a gift-wrapped present. David is taken aback and asks Georgia to wait a moment. He returns and introduces her to his new girlfriend. Georgia awkwardly holds her smile as she comes to understand that David's affections towards her were only about the play.

A disconsolate Georgia heads to her dressing room, but is stopped by a phone call from an upset Jimmy, who informs her that Toby has called off her party because her husband has asked for a divorce.

Devastated for Toby, the two of them agree to meet at Toby's that evening. David finds an upset Georgia and begins to explain about his new girlfriend. Georgia lashes out at David for being self-absorbed to think that her emotions have anything to do with him.

Unable to find a cab, Georgia is forced to walk in the rain to Toby's apartment. She is greeted at the door by Toby, who is dressed perfectly for her cancelled party.

Georgia begins filling Toby's glass with champagne and listening to Toby's story of her past as an enviable college beauty, an untalented actress and then an impeccable wife to her high-profile New York husband. Toby's composure crumbles over the fact that her husband is no longer interested in her.

The doorbell rings and Toby excuses herself to retouch her makeup. At the door is Jimmy (who is shown shaking) and immediately asks Georgia to get him a drink and he gulps down two glasses of the champagne & reveals that he was just fired from his play, three nights before the opening after he had invited all his family and friends.

Georgia retreats to the kitchen and proceeds to drink three full glasses of champagne in succession. She returns to the room tipsy. Now drinking openly with her unaware friends, Georgia tries to rally them out of their depression. She even agrees with Jimmy about how wonderful he was in a play that she never saw. Jimmy and Toby realize to their horror that Georgia is drinking.

Polly, unaware that the party has been cancelled, turns up at Toby's with her new boyfriend. The three friends form a plan to conceal their problems from an unsuspecting Polly.

Toby and Jimmy are able to greet Polly normally, but Georgia, who is now very drunk, has an over-the-top reaction to Polly and her date. Polly quickly realises that Georgia has relapsed and Toby & Jimmy are back to covering up for her bad behavior.

Polly scolds at Georgia for her insensitive, selfish and uncaring attitude towards everyone around her. She storms out with her boyfriend and Jimmy takes Georgia home.

Georgia insists that she is fine and Jimmy can trust her to be by herself. After he leaves, Georgia discovers she is out of cigarettes and goes to buy a pack, but does so in a neighborhood bar. A stranger draws her attention and they strike up a flirty conversation as Georgia orders a drink.

Across town, Polly wants to understand why her mother drinks so she asks her boyfriend to buy some alcohol, but Georgia abruptly ends the conversation at the bar, only to find that the stranger has followed her outside. When Georgia refuses his request to stay, he violently grabs her & pulls her into a darkened alley.

Georgia (who is shown battered & bleeding) goes to Toby's house who is horrified and wants to call a doctor for assistance, but Georgia refuses out of fear of bad press. Toby points out that though she isn't as talented as Georgia, at least she isn't self-destructive.

This logic sets off Georgia, who mocks her & a furious Toby expresses that she's had it covering for Georgia from here on out and offers Georgia two solutions: Either make use of Toby's high-rise terrace balcony to quickly finish her life or do everyone a favor & stop being such an "astronomical pain in the ass."

A sobering Georgia stares at her defiant friend and muses: "I never said it was a multiple-choice question." The two old friends share a tender laugh and hug and they walk back inside.

The next morning, Polly is confused and angry about Georgia's black eye & bruises and Georgia admits that she's not ready to handle the responsibilities of carrying for another person which makes Polly feel rejected & has a hard time understanding it when Georgia refuses to meet her and Polly's father for lunch.

After Polly moves out of Georgia's place, Jimmy visits Georgia, but his coddling reminds her that the safety of her circle of friends is enabling her behavior.

The movie ends with Georgia (who is smartly dressed and with sunglasses hiding her eye), meeting Polly and her ex-husband for lunch.

Cast

 * Marsha Mason as Georgia Hines
 * Kristy McNichol as Polly Hines
 * James Coco as Jimmy Perrino
 * Joan Hackett as Toby Landau
 * David Dukes as David Lowe
 * John Bennett Perry as Vincent Heller
 * Guy Boyd as Man in Bar
 * Ed Moore as Dr. Bob Komack
 * Peter Coffield as Mr. Tarloff
 * Mark Schubb as Adam Kasabian
 * Venida Evans as Nurse Garcia
 * John Vargas as Manuel
 * Dan Monahan as Jason
 * Jane Atkins as Doreen
 * Kevin Bacon as Don Holcroft
 * Phillip Lindsay as Super

Production
"Only When I Laugh" was the first theatrical feature film of director Glenn Jordan and the first of two Neil Simon adaptations that Jordan has directed (the second film being Jake's Women in 1996). Herbert Ross was first choice as the movie's director, but he was unavailable.

Because the movie was shot in New York at the height of the New York stage season where all of the theaters were being used for productions, the stage interiors in the movie had to be shot elsewhere which was in a theater in Los Angeles (one on Wilshire Boulevard).

It was the last completed feature film of actress Joan Hackett (who died on October 8, 1983).

Box Office
"Only When I Laugh" grossed $25,524,778 at the box office.

Critical Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie was given a rating of 50% (with an average rating of 4.9\10 based on 6 reviews).

Roger Ebert gave the movie just one star, critiquing the character of Georgia Hines, writing: "The film should have contained half so many problems if he hoped to provide us with insights into them. But Simon uses misfortunes as a way of creating characters. If he can create an "alcoholic," then he doesn't have to create a three-dimensional person for his film. He can just fill out the person's life with predictable crises from the disease."

Brian Koller from filmsgraded.com also critiqued the character of Georgia Hines, saying: "For an experienced drinker, Georgia is a really bad drunk. She says she's a funny drunk, but not so. One glass of wine, and she's a manic fool who spills drinks on people and can't remember rehearsed song lyrics."

Accolades
1982 Academy Awards 1982 Golden Globes 1982 Golden Raspberry Awards 1982 Young Artist Awards
 * Nominated : Best Actress in a Leading Role (Marsha Mason)
 * Nominated : Best Actor in a Supporting Role (James Coco)
 * Nominated : Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Joan Hackett)
 * Won: Best Motion Picture Actress in a Supporting Role (Joan Hackett)
 * Nominated : Best Motion Picture Actor in a Supporting Role (James Coco)
 * Nominated : Best Motion Picture Actress in a Supporting Role (Kristy McNichol)
 * Nominated : Worst Supporting Actor (James Coco)
 * Nominated : Worst Original Song ("Only When I Laugh")
 * Won: Best Young Motion Picture Actress (Kristy McNichol)