Sharon Stone guest stars in Irreconcilable Differences, eight years before bursting to fame and into our consciousness in Basic Instinct. Anyway, this movie is probably more real than we think, with fame, fortune and lust all intertwined.

Maybe this movie can be rebooted, perhaps with British actors. If so, I nominate acclaimed English actor Danny Dyer to play Ryan O'Neal's role.

Ten year old Casey Brodsky (Drew Barrymore) seeks emancipation from her parents Albert (Ryan O'Neal) and Lucy (Shelley Long). Her divorced parents do not get along. The testimonies lead to recollections of earlier times. She reluctantly picks up hitchhiking Albert on a rainy night. She's marrying Bink but marries Albert instead. He's a UCLA film professor. Hollywood producer David Kessler (Sam Wanamaker) hires him and she becomes his writing partner. He directs a smash hit. He hires ingénue newcomer Blake Chandler (Sharon Stone) for his next movie leading to their divorce. Albert loses everything making a flop with Blake while Lucy gains success as a children book writer.

Written by married couple Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer, this is Hollywood married life with all the ups and downs. Drew Barrymore is actually the supporting actress. This is more about the pairing between O'Neal and Long. They have to sell their chemistry and their relationship. It's passable but it could be better. It needs more humor especially in the first half. The second half has the needed heartbreak. The climatic moment when the couple is literally pulling Casey apart is very effective.

Irreconcilable Differences is a comprehensive film, most of which works, some doesn't.

The start's cute and then it goes back to when they first met and it's captivating to the point that I had forgot it was even a flashback and that Barrymore was in the film, hehe. However after that, Albert's a selfish and inconsiderate a-hole, diminishing the charm. Shelley Long's splendid for the most part and young Barrymore, excellent. Sharon Stone in one of her first appearances, not impactful. Overall I didn't love it, but it's definitely among the top half of films watched.