The Lonely Guy (1984) * *

Directed by:  Arthur Hiller

Starring:   Steve Martin, Charles Grodin, Judith Ivey, Steve Lawrence, Robyn Douglass, Dr. Joyce Brothers

The Lonely Guy is a sporadically funny satire about a lonely guy named Larry (Martin), who is dumped by his girlfriend and soon thrust into the sad, pathetic world of lonely guys.     The movie satirically identifies being a lonely guy as a label or an incurable condition.     Martin's fellow lonely guy is the hopeless sad sack Warren (Grodin), who becomes Larry's best friend and is more or less resigned to being a lonely guy forever. 

The Lonely Guy stars wonderful comic actors Martin and Grodin and was adapted by Neil Simon from screenwriter Bruce Jay Friedman's book.    I expected it to be funnier and inspired than it is.    There are laughs, such as when Larry dines out alone and has a spotlight shone on him while the rest of the clientele stops what they are doing to gaze at him in wonderment and pity.    Grodin is a master at underplaying and worked with Simon previously in 1972's The Heartbreak Kid.     Martin is game for the various gags the movie saddles him with, including a relationship with multiple divorcee Iris (Ivey), which stops and starts so much that we simply don't care if they finally get together.    Iris also can't achieve orgasm except after Larry sneezes, which leads to a drawn-out segment with zero comic payoff.

There are cameos by Merv Griffin and Dr. Joyce Brothers, who was a go-to comedy cameo in the 80s, although I can't say I know why her very appearance is considered funny.     Singer Steve Lawrence shows up as a womanizer whom Larry envies because he is rarely seen without at least two women on his arms.     Oddly, and don't ask me how I recall this, I remember seeing Lawrence promote this film on the Tonight Show and he told a story about how he had to break the news to his wife Eydie Gorme that he landed the role and now has to research it.     One can only imagine what "research" entailed.

So what are we left with but a comedy which plods along like it has lead weights tied to its legs?    The ideas are there, but there isn't much liftoff and a few intermittent laughs which only show us what might have been.