''Irreconcilable Differences'' is a 1984 American
comedy-drama film starring
Ryan O'Neal,
Shelley Long, and
Drew Barrymore. The film was a minor
box-office success, making over $12 million. For their performances, both Long and Barrymore were nominated for
Golden Globe Awards
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...
.
Plot
Casey Brodsky has decided to
divorce her parents and have her nanny, Maria Hernandez, appointed as Casey's
legal guardian
A legal guardian is a person who has been appointed by a court or otherwise has the legal authority (and the corresponding duty) to make decisions relevant to the personal and property interests of another person who is deemed incompetent, call ...
. It results in media attention, and her parents, Albert and Lucy Brodsky, are both brought out of their respective self-absorbed lives and made to testify in court about their personal lives.
At a truck stop in Indiana on the night of
January 20th, 1973, film professor Albert Brodsky is hitchhiking across the country, where he gets picked up by Lucy van Patten, a woman who has ambitions of writing books, particularly for children, but her fiancé "Bink", a gruff
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...
man, represses her, and she is depressed about being relegated to the life of a military wife. Through getting to know Albert, Lucy loosens her inhibitions, breaks off her engagement to Bink, and marries Albert shortly afterwards.
The couple move to California, where Albert attaches himself to a prominent Hollywood producer, who entrusts him to film a romantic script the producer has
kept shelved for a long time. When Albert suffers from writer's block about the romance, Lucy aids him with her writing skills. The film becomes a box-office hit and he is nominated for the