Line #23 Film/IrreconcilableDifferences


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/71bq0j1yhtl_sl1079.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:[[TagLine She'll do anything to keep her parents together...even divorce them!]]]]
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4	''Irreconcilable Differences'' is a 1984 {{dramedy}} film directed by Charles Shyer, starring Creator/RyanONeal, Creator/ShelleyLong, and Creator/DrewBarrymore.
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6	Casey Brodsky (Barrymore), the nine-year-old daughter of a famous director and a bestselling novelist, decides to divorce herself from her neglectful, self-absorbed parents, citing [[TitleDrop irreconcilable differences]]. Most of the film is told in {{flashback}} as Casey and her parents, Albert Brodsky (O'Neal) and Lucy van Patten Brodsky (Long), describe to the judge how Albert and Lucy fell in love, got married, and then split up, and how their relationship with their daughter deteriorated to the point where Casey would want a divorce.
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8	The film features a then-unknown Creator/SharonStone in a supporting role.
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10	----
11	!! This Movie provides examples of:
12	* AdultsAreUseless: Albert and Lucy are so wrapped up in their own problems, they know absolutely nothing about their daughter's life and are completely taken by surprise when she files for emancipation.
13	** Also, one of the women Lucy meets at a Hollywood party years earlier tells her that she has kids, but is "not into parenting right now."
14	* AndStarring: "And introducing Creator/SharonStone."
15	* BoxOfficeBomb: In-universe example. According to Casey, ''Atlanta'' lost more money than any other movie in history.
16	* CallBack: When Lucy drops Casey off for Albert and Blake's Christmas party, Albert raps on Lucy's car window and tries to repeat the first words he said to her ("Hi! Say, I was wondering, could you give me a lift into St. Louis or any town that's got an airport?"), but she cuts him off with "That's not funny."
17	* CallingTheOldManOut: Casey telling her parents at her emancipation trial about how that even if they hate each other, they should at least treat each other with respect. She also told them that they treated her like a pet that they pay attention to only once in a while.
18	* CheatingWithTheMilkman: Albert's girlfriend Blake Chandler eventually leaves him for the limo driver.
19	* CreatorKiller: In-universe example. ''Atlanta'' destroys Albert's career and reputation and forces him to file for bankruptcy.
20	* CustodyBattle: The climax of the film is Casey deciding to divorce her neglectful parents, who fight it in court but lose.
21	* DecoyProtagonist: Casey spends most of the film as a side character. The focus is on her parents, especially Albert.
22	* DefiledForever: Bink wanted Lucy to be a virgin. Once she sleeps with Albert, she knows he'll never want her again.
23	* DevelopmentHell: In-universe example. David Kessler has worked on ''An American Romance'' for thirty-five years by the time he gives it to Albert to direct. At one point he tried to get it made with [[Creator/HumphreyBogart Bogie]] and [[Creator/LaurenBacall Bacall]].
24	* DoesntKnowTheirOwnChild: While trying to persuade Casey not to file for emancipation, Lucy says, "You're only eight years old!" Casey answers, "I'm ''nine''."
25	* DudeWheresMyRespect: Albert and Lucy's relationship starts to fall apart partly because Lucy feels she isn't getting enough credit for the success of ''An American Romance''. Lucy co-wrote the script and was so important to Albert's writing process that he could barely even start it without her, but Albert becomes a big name in Hollywood while Lucy remains unknown.
26	* EmancipatedChild: Casey actually tells her lawyer, "I want to divorce my parents."
27	* EncyclopaedicKnowledge: Albert is so knowledgeable about old movies, he's able to identify a movie based on the name of one actor and a vague description of another.
28	* FourthDateMarriage: Albert and Lucy knew each other for four days before getting married.
29	* GlassesPull: Albert removes his sunglasses while trying to convince Casey not to become emancipated.
30	* GoldDigger: Blake hooks up with Albert when he hits it big and promptly dumps him when his money and career dry up.
31	* GoodAdulteryBadAdultery: Lucy cheating on her fiancé Bink with Albert: good. Albert cheating on Lucy with Blake: bad.
32	* HeartbreakAndIceCream: After the divorce, Lucy just started eating ice cream and junk food. Her pantries are full of cake icing.
33	* HourglassPlot: After Albert divorces Lucy, he lives in a mansion with Blake while Lucy lives in poverty. Later, after Albert's career goes downhill and Lucy becomes a bestselling novelist, Lucy buys Albert's mansion while Albert moves into a motel.
34	* InterruptedIntimacy: Blake walks in on Albert and Lucy just as they're about to have sex for the first time in weeks.
35	* KickTheDog: Blake's treatment of her mother Dottie while filming ''Atlanta''. She orders her to get her a drink, then screams at her when it isn't cold enough.
36	* LaserGuidedKarma: Albert cheats on Lucy with Blake, who promptly cheats on ''him''.
37	* LoveMakesYouUncreative: Albert was a promising director until Blake, his second wife, convinced him to put all his money into creating a musical remake of ''Film/GoneWithTheWind''. It bombed.
38	* MarriedToTheJob: After the success of ''An American Romance'', Albert Brodsky spends a lot of time away from his wife and daughter.
39	* MayDecemberRomance: ''An American Romance'', the movie that makes Albert famous, is about an older man who falls in love with a young woman who gives him something to live for.
40	* MeetCute: Albert first meets Lucy while he is hitchhiking across the country. She drives through a puddle and splatters him with mud.
41	* TheMistress: Kessler's wife of thirty-five years is always traveling, allowing him to openly live with his much-younger girlfriend.
42	* TheMuse: Albert becomes infatuated with Blake after he casts her as the lead in his movie ''Gabrielle''.
43	* NeverMyFault: At the divorce trial, both parents blame each other for the situation. Albert blames Lucy for being insensitive and being too busy for Casey, while Lucy blames Albert for abandoning them.
44	** Throughout the movie, Albert denies responsibility for things that are at least partly his fault, such as Bink's car being stolen, Lucy not getting any credit for her work on ''An American Romance'', and the distance between them while filming ''Gabrielle''.
45	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Albert and Lucy are loosely based on Creator/PeterBogdanovich and Polly Platt, whose marriage fell apart when Bogdanovich took up with his lead actress from ''Film/TheLastPictureShow'', Creator/CybillShepherd.
46	** Creator/SharonStone's character, Blake, is based on Shepherd.
47	** Albert's mentor, a legendary film director named David Kessler (played by Sam Wanamaker), is a [[CompositeCharacter composite]] of Creator/HowardHawks and Creator/JohnHuston.
48	* OminousLegalPhraseTitle: Based on one possible grounds for divorce.
49	* PainfulRhyme: The song Blake sings in ''Atlanta'' is full of these.
50	-->''This Civil War ain't gonna get me down\
51	I'm taking my act to a brand-new town\
52	This belle got burned in Old Atlanta\
53	I'm gonna find myself a brand-new Santa!''
54	* ParentalObliviousness: Lucy has no idea where Casey is most of the time. She is surprised to hear that she spends most of her time at Maria's house, and has to be told at the emancipation trial that Casey is nine and not eight.
55	* ParentalSubstitute: Maria the housekeeper is this for Casey. [[spoiler:She becomes her legal guardian at the end of the movie.]]
56	* ParentsAsPeople
57	* PinballProtagonist: Casey, up until the end of the last flashback when she finally decides she's had enough. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], as she is a child who has no say in how she's raised.
58	* ThePreciousPreciousCar: Lucy's original fiancé Bink's beloved sports car, which Bink worked nine summers to afford, and which Lucy is driving across the country when she meets Albert because she's the only person he trusts with it. Naturally, it gets stolen while she's dancing with Albert.
59	* PsychologicalProjection: At the divorce trial, Lucy tells Casey, "I know why you want to divorce your father. I know you never got over his abandoning us." Casey replies, "No, Mom, ''you'' never got over his abandoning us."
60	* PunctuatedForEmphasis: While filming ''Atlanta'':
61	-->'''Blake''': Amanda never has anything funny to say! ''Nobody'' in this movie ever has anything funny to say!\
62	'''Albert''': That's. Because. It's not. A comedy.
63	* RoadsideWave: Lucy does this to Albert when they first meet.
64	* SoBadItsGood: In-universe example. ''Atlanta'', the movie Albert creates so Blake can fulfill her middle-school dream of playing Scarlett O'Hara, certainly looks like this.
65	* TakingTheKids: After Lucy realizes Albert has been cheating on her, she packs her bags and drives away with Casey. They spend the night in her car.
66	* TheirFirstTime: When they first have sex, Lucy is a virgin and Albert is implied to be.
67	* TroubledProduction: In-universe example. Blake's diva-ish behavior and Albert's obsessive attention to detail cause the budget of ''Atlanta'' to balloon. At one point Albert pays hundreds of extras to do nothing for two days while he waits for the perfect sunset; when the moment finally comes, Blake interrupts the scene to complain about her lines and demand a soda, then gets in an argument with Albert in front of the crew. By the time she's done, the sunset is over.
68	* WriteWhoYouKnow: In-universe example. Lucy's bestselling novel ''He Said It Was Going To Be Forever'' is a barely-fictionalized account of her and Albert's relationship and divorce.

Context Film / IrreconcilableDifferences