Barefoot in the Park is one of the earlier collaborations between Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, one of the more iconic screen couples of all time (they appeared in four films together over the course of many decades, from The Chase in 1966 to Our Souls at Night in 2017). Adapted from a Broadway play and directed by Gene Saks, the comedic repartee between all the characters here, and especially the leads, feels clearly of its time, yet does not fail to entertain even today.
The premise of the story is that Corie (Fonda) and Paul (Redford) are a newly married couple…. and that’s it. The plot isn’t too hard to follow because there isn’t very much of it, just the silly antics of newlyweds with different personalities – Corie, the free-spirited one, and Paul the sensible one. Corie’s conservative mother (Mildred Natwick in an Academy-nominated role) and their quirky upstairs neighbor Victor (Charles Boyer) round out the main cast and provide a fair amount of the hijinks once the initial dynamic between the two leads start to wane a bit, and the additional characters spice up the proceedings further.
This old school romantic comedy rests almost entirely on the breezy charm and sparkling chemistry of the straight and square Redford and an effervescent Fonda, and unsurprisingly, it just works. Redford and Fonda would each, individually and together, grow and mature into their futures but Barefoot is an easy reminder that life is short and to get a “terrific kick out of living” is more than palatable enough on its own. RIP to one of the greatest and most effortless screen presences of all time in Robert Redford.
